Branson, John Peter Leslie

Request an edit Submit a photo

Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) John Peter Leslie
Surname Branson
Gender M
Age 27
Date of Death 11-04-1941
Next of Kin Son of Frank Young Branson, and of Dorothy Lilian Branson, of Hounslow, Middlesex.
BRANSON JPL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington IC
Serial Number R1493
Markings BL-P

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 31.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 135

Enlistment Information

Service Number 72436
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 3
Squadron 40
Squadron Motto Hostem a caelo expellere (To drive the enemy from the sky)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

His alma mater was the highly regarded Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, London which lost an incredible 26 of their alumni to Bomber Command in WW2.
Excerpt from "The Fallen Latymerians of The Second World War": John Peter Branson was born on March 13th 1913. He was the son of Mr T. J. Branson, an accountant, and the family lived at 137 Goldhawk Rd. He came to Latymer on a full fee scholarship form the London County Council and entered Class 1B on 28th April 1925, having previously been taught at Brackenbury Rd L.C.C. Elementary School. He left from form 7B on July 24th 1931, having passed and matriculated through the General Schools Examination in June 1929. But, sadly, failing the Higher School Examination in July 1931, he took up a junior clerkship with Hammersmith Borough Council. A Pilot Officer serving in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, he was reported missing in April 1941, and his death was confirmed in the obituaries section of ‘The Latymerian’ in July 1941 with this obituary: ‘Pilot Officer J.P. Branson, aged 27, was reported missing in April after an action against the enemy. His death has now been confirmed. On leaving School he entered the Town Clerk’s office in Hammersmith but later transferred to Kensington and studied in his spare time at the University of London Law School. He was approved for the Middle Temple in 1938 and took his LL.B. Degree in 1939. He gained his fly-ing certificates while in the London University Squadron of the R.A.F.V.R., and on the outbreak of war became a Junior Operations Officer in the Air Ministry but was later moved to an operational squadron. He was an excellent skater and a keen sportsman and his death has cut short a very promising career.’

Casualty Pack Number Find Out More

AIR 81/5800 (P358294/41)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Click here to view

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/412/28
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/412/27

Last Operation Information

Start Date 10-04-1941
End Date 11-04-1941
Takeoff Station Alconbury
Day/Night Raid Night (99% moon)
Operation Mérignac
Reason for Loss Ditched in the Channel

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.