Meredith, Ronald Hope
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Ronald Hope |
Surname | Meredith |
Gender | M |
Age | 32 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 31-03-1942 |
Next of Kin | Son of Henry and Mary Ellis Meredith. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | R9438 |
Markings | TL-S |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Runnymede Memorial |
Grave Reference | Panel 89. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 211 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 937585 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 35 (Madras Presidency) |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Remote location, Fitful Head, Shetland Islands * WARNING - on edge of 600ft clifftop * |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | To the memory of the crew of Halifax R9438 (H) 35 Sqn, who crashed into the cliffs here on returning from an air raid on the Tirpitz, 30/31st March 1942 |
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
The March to July 1942 edition of 'The Wheatleyan' published an article headlined 'Ronald Hope Meredith'. The article explained "It is with deepest regret that we learn of the death, on active service, of Srgt Meredith RAFVR. The aircraft in which he was flight engineer was returning from operational duties on March 31st last, when very bad weather conditions caused it to crash. He was at school from 1921 to 1928, towards the end of which period he played regularly in the First Fifteen at Rugger. Bablake will never forget 'that diminutive full back with the heart of the lion'. On leaving School he assisted the Old Wheatleyan RFC whose members will greatly deplore his loss. Later on he played for Kenilworth RFC and on occasions he appeared in the Coventry fifteen. He was a player of stout-hearted quality and sterling worth. With doughty contemporaries he helped to build up Bablake Rugger tradition, just after the transition period of the early nineteen twenties. He acquitted himself gloriously on the playing fields, and not less so when the sterner tests of war came along. Thus Bablake mourns the loss of yet another of her brave sons; and her family of Old Wheatleyans joins her in paying tribute to one of her finest sportsmen". |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/379/27 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/379/26 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 30-03-1942 |
End Date | 31-03-1942 |
Takeoff Station | Kinloss |
Day/Night Raid | Night (97% moon) |
Operation | To bomb the Tirpitz in a Fjord near Trondheim. The vessel was not located but some flak positions were bombed |
Reason for Loss | Crashed in the sea off Fitful Head in the Shetlands as the aircraft attempted to reach the airfield at Sumburgh |