Crawley, David
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | David |
Surname | Crawley |
Gender | M |
Age | 31 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 25-02-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Thomas Crawley and Mary Ann Crawley (née Mylray), of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Blanche Doris Crawley (née Maidment), whom he married on 18 October 1940. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | LW427 |
Markings | PT-C |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Durnbach War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 4. C. 23. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 150 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/183604 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 420 (Snowy Owl) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Outside former St. Georges Hotel, Teesside Airport, County Durham |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Slate Tablet on Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 420 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial, inscribed Metal Plaque and Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | A memorial, in English & French, to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 420 (RCAF) Sqn |
Location | Former Control Tower, Tholthorpe Airfield, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 420 Sqn |
Miscellaneous Information
David was born on 14 November 1912 in Lancashire, England. Both parents were born in Lancashire and his father (deceased by the time of David's enlistment) was a Miner. He had two brothers, Frank and Edwin. He attended Askam-in-Furness Public School, Cumbria,Lancs and Dalton Public School, 1927-1929 (Dalton-in-Furness). The sports he took part in were softball, bowling and tennis. David worked as an inspector of Cones for Ford for eleven years (1929-1940) and then undertaking laboratory work between 1940 and 1942 in Sarnia, Ontario. |
He enlisted on 5 August 1942. After initial training, David was posted to the U.K. and embarked from Canada on 16 July 1943, arriving at 3PRC on 23 July. He was then at 22 OTU 10 August 1943, 61 Base 26 October 1943, 1659 CU 24 November 1943 and 420 Squadron 3 January 1944. Very sadly the following month, 25 February 1944, David was to lose his life. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-02-1944 |
End Date | 25-02-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Tholthorpe |
Day/Night Raid | Night (1% moon) |
Operation | Schweinfurt- the first raid on this particular target (the centre of ball-bearing manufacture in Germany). 734 aircraft, 33 losses (4.5%). A new tactic was introduced where the bomber force was split into two waves separated by two hours. The first wave Lost 22 aircraft (5.6%) but the second Lost only 11 (3.2%) of which only 4 were shot down. Poor PFF target marking led to local reports quoting 'nominal damage'. Note that there had been a raid comprising 266 8th Air Force B-17s the night before so it is difficult to attribute damage levels. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed neat Ostelheim, Germany |