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Stone, John Dennis

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) John Dennis
Surname Stone
Gender M
Age 20
Date of Death 28-01-1943
Next of Kin Son of Henry James Stone and Christine A. Stone, of Thornton Heath.
STONE JD

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number W1146
Markings -H

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Croydon (Mitcham Road) Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot F.F. Joint grave 30332.
Epitaph FOR YOUR TOMORROW THEY GAVE THEIR TODAY

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 248

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1270251
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 6
Squadron 1659 HCU
Trade WOp/AG
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Roman Rd, Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brass plaque set into a stone plinth into which is carved with the Canadian maple leaf and the Yorkshire rose.
Memorial Text This memorial is dedicated to those men and women who served at RAF Leeming during World War II, including those from the Royal Canadian Air Force Squadrons, whose members came from all parts of the Commonwealth from 1942 to 1945; 405 Vancouver, 408 Goose
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Location Opposite old Main Guardroom, RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In commemoration of those men and women of many nations who served at RAF Leeming during the second world war.
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Miscellaneous Information

Clinton Pudney (an American enlisted with RCAF) was awarded the George Medal for his selfless acts of bravery that night. His citation reads: "While engaged on a local practice flight the Halifax aircraft in which Sergeant Pudney was flying as mid-upper gunner struck high ground, crashed and burst into flames. Three members of the crew were killed and the others, with the exception of Sergeant Pudney, were too severely injured to extricate themselves from the burning wreckage. Though suffering from severe lacerations on his face and in spite of loss of blood and shock, Sergeant Pudney entered the blazing aircraft several times and finally succeeded in bringing all his companions out. He then struggled over rough moorland for two miles to obtain help." He was .

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Askew J R (F/S)
Beliveau J H A (F/S)
Drago R E (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-01-1943
End Date 28-01-1943
Takeoff Station Leeming
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training- cross-country flying exercise
Reason for Loss On return to Leeming the crew found the base to be shrouded in cloud. As a result, they became lost and flew too far west. After letting down through cloud to work out their position, the aircraft flew into the slopes of Great Shunner Fell to the west of Thwaite in Upper Swaledale at 12.28hrs. On crashing the aircraft caught fire. Sgt. Clinton Pudney, who was suffering from severe lacerations to his face and head, assisted by the pilot P/O LeFebvre, returned to the burning aircraft several times to rescue other members of the crew who were trapped inside, after which he walked two miles over rough moorland to summon help, despite his injuries. Of the seven personnel aboard, four died (one of whom, F/S John Ruskin Askew, died of his injuries later in Catterick Military Hospital). All of the other crew were injured, Pudney and LeFebvre seriously.

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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.