Wilkes, Arthur Edwin
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Arthur Edwin |
Surname | Wilkes |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 23-06-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Charles Edwin and Ethel Agnes Wilkes, of West Bromwich, Staffordshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington X |
Serial Number | HE394 |
Markings | SE-V |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Rheinberg War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 3. C. 8. |
Epitaph | IN THE MIDST OF LIFE WE ARE IN DEATH" AS THE SUN SETS WE SHALL REMEMBER |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 264 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1575740 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 431 (Iroquois) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to A19, Burn, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | A memorial to all those who served on 431 Sqn RCAF at RCAF Burn, 1942-1943 |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed metal plaques & Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Old Control Tower, former airfield site, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of all those who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2 including 431 Sqn RCAF |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1857/8 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1857/7 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 22-06-1943 |
End Date | 23-06-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Burn |
Day/Night Raid | Night (70% moon) |
Operation | Mülheim. 557 aircraft, 35 losses (6.3%) A thin layer of cloud hampered PFF marking efforts which were, nevertheless accurate (as detailed by the German report on the raid). As a result the bombing was concentrated and devastated this small town. All communications were cut off from Oberhausen, on which Mülheim was dependent for emergency services. 578 deaths and 1135 homes destroyed. A post war British report put the damage at 64% of the town. |
Reason for Loss | Believed to have been shot down in the vicinity of Mönchengladbach, Germany |