Sargeant, Rowland Died

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Personal Information

Rank Cpl
Forename(s) Rowland
Surname Sargeant
Gender M
Age 32
Date of Death 21-10-1945
Next of Kin Son of Rowland and Annie Sargeant, of Brentwood; husband of Anne Sargeant of Hull.
SARGEANT R

Aircraft Information

Aircraft
Serial Number
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Brentwood (London Road) Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot G. Grave 131.
Epitaph AT REST

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase SP
Panel Number 272 (not yet erected on site)

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1039679
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 1
Squadron 14 Base
Trade Ground staff
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Bawtry Hall, Bawtry, South Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of those who did not return 1939 - 1945

Last Operation Information

Start Date -
End Date -
Takeoff Station Ludford Magna
Reason for Aircraft Loss Hull Daily Mail - Thursday 25 October 1945: HULL AIRMAN S DEATH Tragedy While on Leave. At an inquest held by the Hull coroner yesterday verdict was returned on Rowland Sargent [sic], of Cardigan Rd., Hull, that he died by his own act while the balance of his mind was disturbed. His wife, Mrs Annie Sargent. said her husband joined the R.A.F. in 1940 and returned to this country in November last year. She alleged that he was not doing any work at his station, and it preyed upon his mind and made him depressed. She had found him easily irritable. He came home on 48 hours leave and they went to the cinema in the evening. About two o'clock the next morning their 18 months old baby started to cry and she suggested that the child should share their bed. Her husband showed signs of bad temper and went downstairs, saying that he would sleep on the settee. TOWEL UNDER DOOR Later she went downstairs and found the scullery door closed. It was difficult to open because of a towel wedged underneath. Her husband was sitting in a chair and the gas ring was turned full on. He appeared to be dead and she immediately called her brother-in-law. Her husband had never given her any reason to believe that he would take his life. Dr P. Science said death was due to asphyxia due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The Coroner extended his sympathy with Mrs. Sargent.
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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.