Saunders, William Anthony Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) William Anthony
Surname Saunders
Gender M
Age 20
Date of Death 14-06-1940
Next of Kin Son of Lionel Ralph Stanley Saunders and Dorothy Margaret Saunders, of Reading, Berkshire.
SAUNDERS WA 756

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Bristol Blenheim IV
Serial Number R3742
Markings YH-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 10.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 238
SAUNDERS WA 756

Location

Row -
Panel 238
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 2
Panel Number 238

Enlistment Information

Service Number 40756
Service Royal Air Force
Group 2
Squadron 21
Squadron Motto Viribus vincimus (By strength we conquer)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

Known as Tony.
Many sources incocrrectly state this aircraft had serial number R3745 (including AIR 81/900) but this was wrecked when it overshot the runway when landing at RAF Bicester on 22 April 1943.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/263/18
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/263/18

Last Operation Information

Start Date 14-06-1940
End Date 14-06-1940
Takeoff Station Bodney
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Bomb the airfield at Merville
Reason for Aircraft Loss Whilst over the target their aircraft was hit by flak, and as they fell behind the formation they were then attacked by Me109s. Tony made a forced landing at Ardres and the whole crew went on the run, making their way the 20 miles to Wissant on the French Coast. On reaching Wissant, the crew were offered a small rowing boat by the locals and they decided to attempt to make it back to England. After 3 days at sea, with no food, water or dry clothes, they reached a point about 10 miles from the English coast when the oar broke. Caught by the currents they drifted back to France. During the day Tony had been suffering hallucinations, possibly because he had been drinking sea water, but finally went to sleep, as did the other two. During the night he disappeared from the boat. The two remaining crew were washed up on the shores of France, and as they made their way up the coast were arrested by the Germans and sent to Prisoner of War camps. The Air Ministry made great efforts to try to identify Tony's last resting place, but the nearest they came to a possible identification was the recovery of an unknown Pilot Officer’s body washed up on the French coast on 26 June 1940, 12 days after he disappeared.
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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.