Roll of Honour - Sussex - Coolham Advanced Landing Ground

BRITISH CASUALTIES

CHARLES GORDON
NOEL STURT GREEN
ALLAN JOHN HANCOCK
DOUGLAS HAIG NELSON
STANLEY PAYNE
WILLIAM EDWARD RIGBY
WILLIAM TYRER

POLISH CASUALTIES

ROMAN MARIAN BRYGIDER
STANISLAW CALINSKI
BOLESLAW GECA
CZESLAW OBERDAK
KAZIMIERZ OSIELENIEC
HENRYK STEFANKIEWICZ
ADAM SWORNIOWSKI
WLADYSLAW JAN SZAJDA

RAF
GORDON	Charles	Sergeant 967357, 5018 Airfield Construction Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Born 11th December 1901. Son of Margaret Todd (formerly Gordon) and stepson of William Todd. Husband of Elizabeth McEwan Heeps Gordon of Stirling. Killed 15th February 1944. Buried in Section M, Grave 27 in Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling. Hit by the propeller of Martin B26 Marauder 41-34913 'Flounder Gus' of the 454th Bomb Squadron while making an emergency landing while the airfield was under construction. The aircraft had been hit by flak over Cherbourg, losing an engine. The other engine failed just before landing and the aircraft broke in half as it slid along the ground, but the crew survived with only minor injuries. A section of the port wing broke off as the aircraft hit a tree and killed Charles Gordon. For reasons unknown, the CGWC lists him as serving with 454 (RAAF) Squadron.
GREEN	Noel Sturt	Flight Lieutenant 122119, 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Born 22nd December 1922 in Egham, Surrey. Son of William Ernest Green and his wife, Eva, of Worthing Killed in action 17th June 1944. Commemorated on Panel 202 of the Runnymede Memorial. He was flying Mustang FZ176 when hit by flak after dive bombing Marshalling yards at Mezidon and crashed. His family owned 'Green's' cakes.
HANCOCK	Allen John	Flight Lieutenant 120710, 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Born 26th Aril 1918 in Lahore, India. Son of John and Beatrice Asgil Hancock of Houghton, Huntingdonshire. Killed 22nd June 1944. Buried in Grave II G 7 in Bayeux War Cemetery, Normandy. Commissioned from Flight Sergeant 31st March 1944. Served with 213 Squadron in the Western Desert. Awarded DFC 28th July 1942 and bar 10th October 1944. Shot down 7 enemy aircraft. Aircraft hit by heavy flak during while strafing enemy positions south of Cherbourg and crashed.
NELSON	Douglas Haig	Pilot Officer 54296, 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Born 20th September 1918 in Saskatchewan, Canada. Son of George and Mary Frances Nelson of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Killed 26th April 1944. Buried in Row B, Grave 32 in Poix-de-Picardie Churchyard in the Somme, France. Commissioned from Flight Sergeant in March and commission `backdated to 26th January 1944. Shot down by flak while attacking Beauvais airfield in Mustang FX949, he bailed out but did not survive
PAYNE	Stanley	Flying Officer 158325, 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Born in London 11th May1920. Son of Frederick and Marion Payne. Husband of Peggy Mary Payne of Wood Green, Middlesex. They had 1 daughter, Christine. He was known in the squadron as 'Skip'. Died 17th June 1944. Buried in Block U, Grave 398 in Hills Cemetery, Horsham. Killed in a take off accident at 18.03 hours in Mustang FB165. The aircraft, carrying two 500 lb bombs, lost power and hit a tree, crashed near the 'Old House' at Coolham. There was a small explosion from the engine, the aircraft caught fire and was completely destroyed.
RIGBY	William Edward	Pilot Officer 177660, 129 (Mysore) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Born 9th February 1923. Son of John Edward Rigby and his wife, Elsie, of Harwood, Lancashire. Killed 14th June 1944. Buried in St Hymer Churchyard, Calvados, France. He is the only CWGC burial here. Commissioned from Warrant Officer 18th May 1944. Went missing about 15 miles east of Caen on Ramrod 998, cause not known.
TYRER	William	Leading Aircraftman,1033207, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Born 12th March 1912 in Prescot, Lancashire. Motorcycle despatch rider attached to 411 (Polish) Repair and Salvage Unit, Coolham Died in a traffic accident in Chichester 12th May 1944. Buried in Section 6, R.C. Grave 565 in West Derby Cemetery, Liverpool.
POLISH AIRFORCE
BRYGIDER	Roman Marian	Pilot Officer P-2304, 315 Squadron. Born 6th August 1912 in Tarnopol, Poland. Killed in an accident in FX895 which broke up in the air on the 19th April. The tailplane came off during a test dive and he crashed near Coolham. He was one of a section of four simulating a strafing attack. Buried in Section H, Grave 406 in Northwood Cemetery, Ruislip, Middlesex. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex.
CALINSKI	Stanislaw	Flying Officer P-2198, 315 Squadron Born 9th January 1922 in Tarnopol, Poland. Killed by flak on 20th May 1944 when dive bombing targets at Verberie, about 40 miles north of Paris in FB179, code letters PK-C. Buried in Plot 2, Row 2, Grave 346 in Creil Communal Cemetery, France. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex.
GECA	Boleslaw	Flight Lieutenant P-1797, 306 Squadron Born 23rd December 1917, Lubin, Poland Killed 7th June 1944when Mustang FZ169, code letters UZ-S, was caught by the explosion of its own bombs when attacking German transport in the Montfort area, south of Le Havre. Initially buried in Grave 1 in Blangy Le Chateau Cemetery in the Calvados area of France, now in Grave II AA 1 in Grainville-Langannerie Polish War Cemetery near Falaise. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex
OBERDAK	Czeslaw	Flying Officer P-2224, 306 Squadron Born 20th July 1921, Krakow, Poland While acting as escort to B-17 Flying Fortresses on 30th May 1944, his Mustang was hit by flak over Germany but was able to keep going for several hundred miles and he crash landed at Dalmsholte, near Zwolle, Holland. After being sheltered by the Resistance for some months he was arrested on 24th December and is understood to have been executed on 8th March 1945. He is buried in Loechen Military Cemetery near Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex. On 10th December 2009 the body of 306 Sqn pilot Czeslaw Oberdak was reburied in Krakow, Poland. A DNA match was made (2008) with his sister Ludmilla who has never stopped looking for her lost brother. He was indeed one of 117 people shot by the Germans in March 1945.
OSIELENIEC	Kazimierz	Flight Sergeant P-780907, 306 Squadron Born 31st July 1918, Lubin, Poland Killed in Mustang FB100, code letters UZ-P on 21st April 1944. During training at Coolham, he undershot the landing ground, hit a tree stump with his right wheel which then damaged the right flap. He made another approach but the damaged flap forced the aircraft onto its back and it crashed. Buried in Section H, Grave 422 in Northwood Cemetery, Ruislip, Middlesex. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex.
STEFANKIEWICZ	Henryk	Flight Lieutenant, P-0564, 315 Squadron Born 16th July 1918, Warsaw, Poland. On June 22nd In Mustang FB398, Code letters PK-A he took part in a strafing attack on German armoured vehicles south of Cherbourg. The flak was heavy and hit his aircraft causing it to crash into the channel. He is commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex.
SWORNIOWSKI	Adam	Flight Lieutenant P-1739, 315 Squadron Born 19th February 1918, Krakow, Poland. On 10th June 1944, during Ramrod 986, an armed recce in the area south of Caen in Mustang FX960, code letters PK-A, the aircraft was hit by flak. He successfully jettisoned his bombs and either baled out or crash landed safely (there are two conflicting accounts)and was then shot by German troops while running towards the cover of some trees. He is buried in Grave V E 9 in Grainville-Langannerie Polish War Cemetery near Falaise. He shot down a FW 190 on 7th June.
SZAJDA	Wladyslaw Jan	Flying Officer P-1740, 306 Squadron Born 31st October 1919, Tarnopol, Poland On 4th April 1944 he was ferrying one of the new Mustangs, FX881, from RAF Aston Down to Coolham. On taking off from Aston Down the engine failed and the aircraft crashed with full fuel tanks The pilot was trapped by his feet and could not be freed. His drop tanks had broken off, but had caught fire. This fire eventually reached the crashed aircraft which then burned with the pilot trapped inside. Buried in Section H, Grave 357 in Northwood Cemetery, Ruislip, Middlesex. Also commemorated on the Polish War Memorial, RAF Northolt, Middlesex.

Last updated 4 July, 2016

COOLHAM ADVANCED LANDING GROUND WAR MEMORIAL