Ford, Douglas Courtney
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Douglas Courtney |
Surname | Ford |
Gender | M |
Age | 22 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 25-07-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Bernard and Edith Kate Ford, of Woking, Surrey. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | HR940 |
Markings | MH- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Denmark |
Burial/Memorial Place | Aabenraaa Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Allied Mil. Plot. Row 3. 15. |
Epitaph | HE THOUGHT OF OTHERS ALWAYS WITH A SMILE AND DID HIS BEST WITH SELF-DENIAL |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 165 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1218711 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 51 |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Monument, Bench & Metal Plaques |
Memorial Text | In memory of the airmen of R.A.F. 51 Sqn. (687) and 150 Sqn. (205) between 1941 - 1945 |
Location | Village Hall, Pollington, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque on external wall |
Memorial Text | 51 Sqn RAF Snaith Oct 1942 - Apr 1945 |
Location | St. John the Baptist Church, Pollington, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Sqn Crest & Roll of Honour |
Memorial Text | 51 Sqn Roll of Honour |
Location | RAF Snaith Memorial Gardens, Pollington, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Monument, Multiple Inscribed Metal Plaques, Propeller Unit |
Memorial Text | In memory of the 687 airmen of 51 Sqn, 4 Gp, Bomber Command who lost their lives flying Halifax bombers Mks 2 and 3 at RAF Snaith between October 1942 and April 1945 |
Location | Stn Church, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Roll of Honour in Wooden Case |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour of 51 Sqn |
Location | Grounds of Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | 51 Sqn RAF. In proud and undying memory of all ranks killed or missing 1939 - 1945 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/32 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/492/31 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-07-1943 |
End Date | 25-07-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Snaith |
Day/Night Raid | Night (42% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 791 aircraft, 12 losses (1.5%). Clear conditions over the target and only a light wind. This was the first raid in which Window was used. A mixture of H2S and visual marking was used and although initial bombing was concentrated, creepback was particularly evident with a corridor of fire some 6 miles long developing. Approximately 1500 civilian deaths- the greatest number in a raid outside the reach of Oboe. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed near Sonderborg, Demark |