Rayner, Stanley Ernest
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Stanley Ernest |
Surname | Rayner |
Gender | M |
Age | 23 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 25-03-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of John Henry and Ethel Selina Rayner, of Great Bromley, Essex. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | MZ510 |
Markings | C8-Q |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Reichswald Forest War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 7. B. 3. |
Epitaph | HE LOVED CHIVALRY, TRUTH AND HONOUR, FREEDOM AND COURTESY |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 230 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1394183 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 640 |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Normandy Barracks, Leconfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Metal Sculpture Brick Pillars and Inscribed Sqn Badges |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those who flew from RAF Leconfield, including 640 Sqn |
Location | Memorial Gardens, Beverley, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone, Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those of 640 Sqn who were killed during WW2 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2157/6 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2157/5 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 24-03-1944 |
End Date | 25-03-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Leconfield |
Day/Night Raid | Night (1% moon) |
Operation | Berlin. 811 aircraft, 72 losses (8.9%). Known as the 'night of the strong winds', a very powerful wind from the north tended to push the aircraft south at every stage of the operation. As a result, the bomber stream became very scattered, allowing fighters to pick off stragglers, although 50 of the aircraft Lost were hit by flak. Around 20000 were bombed out but no industrial premises were hit. This was the last major raid on Berlin of the war. |
Reason for Loss | Crashed at Dinslaken, Germany |