Dolby, Earle George
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Earle George |
Surname | Dolby |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | DFC |
Date of Death | 01-09-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of George Edward Dolby and Winifred Dolby (née Spaulding), of Milton West, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Kathleen Mary Dolby (née Lake), whom he married in Nottingham, England in May 1943. His wife lived at Stickney, Boston, Lincolnshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster III |
Serial Number | JA916 |
Markings | OF-L |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 8. Z. 20. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 156 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/17608 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 97 (Straits Settlements) |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Church of the Holy Spirit, RAF Coningsby, Coningsby, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window |
Memorial Text | A stained glass window remembering 97 Sqn in the Church of the Holy Spirit, RAF Coningsby |
Miscellaneous Information
A very experienced crew, all except the mid-upper gunner had been decorated. The other five crew members became PoW but W/C Burns was repatriated as he Lost a hand in the explosion. After having a prosthetic hand fitted he resumed his flying career. |
Earle was born on 24 August 1920 at Milton West, Ontario. His father, a garage mechanic, was also born at Milton West, his mother at Aurora, Ontario. He had a brother Harold Melville and a sister Ada Elizabeth. The schools he attended were Public school, Trafalgar, SS1. 1926-1932, and Milton High. 1932-1938 (Jnr. Matric). He also went to Galt Aircraft School, 1939-40 studying aero engines. He worked at his father’s garage (G.E.Dolby) as a garage mechanic between July 1938 and September 1939, then left to attend Galt Air school, out of school hours. Earl constructed gas powered model aircraft as a hobby and his sport interests were skating, hockey, baseball and swimming. |
He enlisted on 30 March 1940 and after training was posted to the U.K. He embarked from Canada on 10 February 1942 arriving at 3 PRC on 20 Feb 1942 and then proceeded to 415 Squadron 3 March 1942, 1654 CU 12 October 1942, 61 Sqn, 30 October, 97 Squadron 19 January 1943. Earle survived the crash, injured, and was taken PoW but died before reaching hospital. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/767/16 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/767/15 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 31-08-1943 |
End Date | 01-09-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Bourn |
Day/Night Raid | Night (1% moon) |
Operation | Berlin. 622 aircraft, 47 losses (7.6%). Stirling losses were some 16.0% Fighter flares were used by the German night-fighters for the first time to mark the path of the main force both into and out of the target area. This raid was not a success. Cloud, combined with the now familiar problems with the H2S equipment and the effective defences of the city conspired to make the PFF marking very difficult. Creepback was an additional problem and it is said that the fires stretched back some 30 miles! Only 85 homes were destroyed. There were 68 deaths. Goebbels ordered that all children and any adults not engaged in war work be evacuated to the country. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and exploded in the target area |