Ruston, John Benjamin
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | John Benjamin |
Surname | Ruston |
Gender | M |
Age | 26 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 21-09-1941 |
Next of Kin | Son of Rev. George Ruston and Esther Prudence Ruston (née Aston) , of Bronx, New York City, USA. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington II |
Serial Number | W5452 |
Markings | BU-U |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Rowley Regis (St. Giles) Churchyard |
Grave Reference | Plot D.12. Grave 391. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 236 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/15002 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 214 (Federated Malay States) |
Trade | Observer |
Country of Origin | United States of America |
Other Memorials
Location | Outside former Officers Mess, Stradishall, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Memorial with Inscribed Marble Tablets |
Memorial Text | To commemorate 32 years of service by the men and women of R.A.F. Stradishall 1938 - 1970 |
Location | All Saints Church, Chedburgh, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Plaques and RoH within wooden case |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour and scroll remembering the members of the Royal and Polish Air Forces who served at RAF Chedburgh 1942 - 1946 |
Miscellaneous Information
John was born on 14 July 1915 in the Bronx, New York City, USA. HIs father was a Minister and was born in Birmingham. England, and his mother was born in London. John was a British citizen. He had two sisters as well as two brothers, Frank and Henry. The schools he attended were Public High School # 9, Kelly Corners, New York, 1919-1926, then High School at Margaretville, New York 1926-1929, then High School at Dutton, Ontario, 1929-1933. He also went to the University of Weston Ontario 1933-1937. (B.A. degree). For sport he liked to swim and he also played tennis, basketball and baseball. He also played the trumpet. John then took up a correspondence course from 1938 onwards (Life Insurance). He had also worked for the Bell Telephone Company as a relief operator on nights between 1930-1939, at Neal Bakery Co., London, Ontario as a salesman/Driver (summer work) and then he worked for London Life Insurance Institute, London, Ontario as a clerk and branch secretary from 1938 onwards. |
He enlisted on 3 June 1940 and after training was posted to the U.K. He embarked from Canada on 28 February 1941, arriving at 3PRC on 2 March 1941, 11 OTU 15 March 1941, and 214 Squadron on 18 March 1941. John sadly lost his life on 21 September 1941. |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
AIR 81/10019 (P362483/41) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1320/18 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1320/17 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 20-09-1941 |
End Date | 21-09-1941 |
Takeoff Station | Stradishall |
Day/Night Raid | Night (0% moon) |
Operation | Berlin |
Reason for Loss | Crashed into trees while trying to make an emergency landing at Manston |