Uncle in RAF who died on D-Day, buried at Hawkinge

My uncle was William Douglas Ingram and I have found out from the CWGC Website that he was Flight Lt. 31332 in the RAF and died on D-Day - 6th June 1944. He is buried at Hawkinge Cemetery in Kent. I would very much like to know which RAF Squadron he was serving in, the type of plane he was flying in and the sortie which was being undertaken with his plane that brought about his death. The fact that he is buried at Hawkinge Cemetery, next to Hawkinge Airfield seems to indicate that there was an accident at the airfield or on take-off, or perhaps that the plane was hit whilst in action, got back to England but crash-landed at the airfield.

This information must have been known by members of his family at the time, but none of it got passed on and I would love to know a bit more about my Uncle Douglas. Many thanks to anyone who is able to help.

 

welcome neice,would have been better seen in information request....I'm sure one of the mods will move it later,ray..

 

Hi, there are a couple of references to him in the Flight archives, last I found was promotion to Flying Officer with effect from 3rd July 1940.
sen | july | pilot officers | 1940 | 2517 | Flight Archive (Halfway down right hand column).

There was no other fatality in Hawkinge Cemetery died on 6th June, which makes me think he was in a single seat aircraft, what with Hawkinge being a fighter base. Obviously being so close to the channel, it might be any aircraft struggling to reach England.
Next of Kin can apply for his Service Records which will no doubt detail which Squadron he was serving with, which unusually is not noted on his CWGC entry.
There may be newspaper archives detailing more about the incident, or an obituary.
Local History Groups may also have more details, or the local Museum.

It is also possible that he was killed in an accident on the airfield, such as a road crash, as he doesn't necessarily have to be flying. That might explain why no Squadron is mentioned, as airfield ground crew were not attributed to Squadrons. It's always easy to assume that as he was in the RAF he must have been flying, when the job on the ground keeping the planes flying was just as important!!

Do you know his date of birth or where he was living, as in many cases, they could be transported "home" to be buried near his family, which doesn't seem the case here.

More info would mean more help I think!!

 

Thank you so much for your helpful reply. I will follow up the suggestions you made about trying to find out more at Hawkinge. The airfield museum is closed until Easter but I will take a trip sometime after that. As you suggest, there might well be more information about what occurred there on D-Day as it was such a big event - my husband tells we that although the invasion did not take place from that part of the coast there was lots of diversionary activity undertaken from Kent to try and keep the Germans occupied around Calais. It is interesting to learn that CWGC would usually give the name of the squadron if the death occurred whilst on a flying mission. It does sound as though he was ground crew or there was an accident on or around the base - which might be recorded in the local paper or the museum.


Douglas was 28 when he died. He was born in Sept. 1916 in South Wales, where his parents lived throughout their lives. I have considered applying to RAF Disclosures at Cranwell but I cannot prove that I am next of kin so they are unlikely to release any information. My mother (Douglas's sister) died ten years ago. A sadness for her was that when Douglas died the family lost all contact with his wife and baby daughter. It is possible that the daughter, or even his widow might still be alive.

Thanks again for your help.
Neice

 

The unusual aspect is that his wife lived in Romford, so not overly far for the funeral, or even Wales. It might be possible to trace her or her daughter from the CWGC details? Maybe telephone book although both may have (re)married if still about.....

 

3 hits on London Gazette archive using his surname & service number to use as search terms.
Entries from 1940 & 1941.
Doesn't help explain his death but some background info.
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/all=ingram;exact=31332/start=1

 

Thank you both very much for the additional comments and information. It was fascinating to see the entries in the London Gazette. I note that he was listed under the Equipment Branch - which I presume does imply that he was ground crew rather than air crew. It seems increasingly as though there was some accident or event at the airbase which caused his death. Maybe it was even just a coincidence that he died on the 6th June - and whatever happened occurred before that date. I shall go to Hawkinge sometime and maybe find out more.

Neice

 

mispost