Marks, James Hardy
Personal Information
Rank | W/C |
Forename(s) | James Hardy |
Surname | Marks |
Gender | M |
Age | 24 |
Decorations | DSO*, DFC, Twice MiD |
Date of Death | 19-09-1942 |
Next of Kin | Son of James Samuel and Ida Mary Marks, of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | W7657 |
Markings | TL-L |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | France |
Burial/Memorial Place | Choloy War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 2A. C. 7. |
Epitaph | IN PROUD AND TREASURED MEMORY OF OUR ONLY SON JIM |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 204 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 39670 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 8 |
Squadron | 35 (Madras Presidency) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Memorial Hall, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Board & Photo of aircraft wreckage at crash site |
Memorial Text | To Commemorate Wing Commander J.H.Marks DSO and Bar DFC Killed in action 19th September 1942 For Valour |
Location | International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln, Lincolnshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed stone tablet |
Memorial Text | J.H. Marks DFC T. Tomkinson S. Telford Cookie B. Larard G. Ritch B.Trumen |
Location | Roadside Location, Graveley, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | Graveley Airfield 1942-1945 8 Group Bomber Command 35 Squadron Pathfinder Force 692 Squadron Light Night Striking Force R.A.F. To commemorate this airfield in honour of those who served the nation aircrew, groundstaff & WAFF of United Kingdom Dominions, C |
Location | All Saints Church, Offord Cluny, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window, Sqn Badge & Roll of Honour |
Memorial Text | Remember before God all those airmen and airwomen 3who served with 35 Squadron R.A.F. Graveley 1939-1945 |
Miscellaneous Information
He was an outstanding airman who had joined the RAF in 1937, became a pre-war display pilot and then flew Whitleys and Halifaxes in 4 Group before moving to new Pathfinder Force as CO of 35 Squadron. He won his DFC in 1940, his DSO in 1941 (at the age of 23) and added a Bar to his DFC in 1942. He was about to be promoted to Group Captain when he stepped in as a pilot on the Saarbrucken raid to replace a pilot who had been taken ill. He came from Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire where there is a plaque in his memory in the local Memorial Hall |
Mentioned in Despatches February 1940 and June 1942 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/379/39 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/379/38 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 19-09-1942 |
End Date | 20-09-1942 |
Takeoff Station | Graveley |
Day/Night Raid | Night (75% moon) |
Operation | Saarbrucken. 118 aircraft, 5 losses (4.2%). PFF were to mark two targets but ground haze presented difficulties and bombing was scattered as a result. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by an Me110 and crashed at Blesme, France |