Rhodes, Alfred Spencer
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | Alfred Spencer |
Surname | Rhodes |
Gender | M |
Age | 20 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 22-06-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of James Bloor Rhodes and Nellie Gladys Rhodes (née Gilbert), of Bellevue, Alberta, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington X |
Serial Number | HE981 |
Markings | AL- |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 25. C. 1-2. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 231 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/131818 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 429 (Bison) |
Trade | WOp/AG |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Village Centre, Sutton on the Forest, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone & Metal Sun Dial |
Memorial Text | A memorial to all those who served at RAF East Moor and in particular 415 Sqn RCAF |
Miscellaneous Information
Alfred was born on 16 October 1922. His father worked as a carpenter and was born in Staffordshire, England and his mother in Manitoba, Canada. He had brothers, Edmund, Phillip, Harold, William, George and Robert and sisters Mary Ethel and Edna May. A third sister Bertha had died in 1931. The schools he attended were Bellevue , Alberta, 1928-1936 and then continued in 1936-1940 for grades 10 and part grade 11. The sports Alfred enjoyed were basketball, softball and skating. Alfred worked for W.F. Harvey of Bellevue, Alberta as an Assistant Carpenter, 1940-1941. |
He enlisted on 2 October 1941. After training he was posted to the U.K. After embarking from Canada on 12 December 1942 He was then at 3 PRC on 19 December 1942, 22 OTU 23 February 1943, and 429 Squadron 4 May 1943. Sadly, Alfred was then to lose his life on 22 June 1943. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1852/12 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1852/11 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 21-06-1943 |
End Date | 22-06-1943 |
Takeoff Station | East Moor |
Day/Night Raid | Night (80% moon) |
Operation | Krefeld. 705 aircraft, 44 losses (6.2%) with night-fighters counting for most of the losses (the night was moonlit). PFF marking was near-perfect (using Oboe). A large fire in the centre of Krefeld raged unchecked for many hours. Over 5500 houses destroyed, 1056 people killed and 72000 bombed out of their homes. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed NNE of Roosendaal, Holland |