Sailes, Reginald Samuel

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Reginald Samuel
Surname Sailes
Gender M
Age 35
Decorations
Date of Death 27-06-1951
Next of Kin Son of Samuel & Alice Sailes. Husband of Cecilia Mary Sailes (née Stratford), of Claremont, Witham Rd, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire
SAILES RS

Aircraft Information

Aircraft De Havilland Mosquito B35
Serial Number TK635
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place His family believe he was cremated but there is no evidence of his ashes being interred in a grave.
Grave Reference
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase Post-War
Panel Number POST (not yet erected on site)

Enlistment Information

Service Number 136436
Service Royal Air Force
Group
Squadron 139 (Jamaica)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

Born 3 October 1915 at New Cross, SE London. Attended Charlton LCC Central School 1927-31 and left with a School Leaving Certificate. His early career was as a lift attendant. Between 1934 and 1936 he was a Gunner (service number) 832508 with the 91st Field Brigade, 363rd Battery. Between 1935 and 1941 he was a Met Police traffic constable (PC440). He enlisted RAF Duke Road, Euston on 29 Apr 1941 with rank LAC and service number 1389359. His service career reads as follows: No1 ACRC 18 Aug 41 Lords CG; No 8 ACSB; 12 ITW Marine Hotel, Saint Andrews; P1 Pool 21 Feb 42; 34 EFTS 2 Jun 42 Canada; 31 EFTS 5 Jul 42 Canada; 32 SFTS 29 Aug 42 Canada; U/T Pilot 31 Oct 42; 41 SFTS 17 Mar 43 Staff Pilot Canada; 33 ANS 8 Oct 43 Staff Pilot Canada; 7 PRC RAF Harrogate 15 Sep 44; 21 (P) SFU 5 Dec 44; 16 OTU 6 Mar 45 RAF Upper Heyford; 571 Sqn 11 May 45 Pilot; HQ TC 7 Sep 45 Pilot; 162 Sqn 8 Sep 45; 1552 BABS Flt RAF Melbourne 10 Nov 45; 7 FIS 23 Jan - 27 Feb 46 and 27 Feb - 5 Mar 46 95 Course RAF Full Sutton 19 Oct 46; 109 Sqn RAF Coningsby 20 Dec 46; RAF Highgate 26 Nov 47; 109 Sqn RAF Coningsby 20 Jan 48; CBE RAF Marham 31 Mar 48; 139 Sqn RAF Hemswell 7 Nov 49.
Known as 'Red', a nickname given to him while he was serving with 162 Sqn in Egypt, after the 1935 song Red Sails in the Sunset.

Fellow Servicemen

Sloan G H (Sgt)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-06-1951
End Date 27-06-1951
Takeoff Station Hemswell
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation
Reason for Loss Aircraft seen trailing black smoke before it crashed at Warren Farm, Cold Harbour, Lincolnshire. Cause of loss not determined

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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.