Miscellaneous RAF Burials in North Lincolnshire area
Apart from the official CWG cemeteries in the area there are a number of individual RAF burials in various other cemeteries and churchyards in the region. Most but not all were claimed by relatives/next of kin and laid to rest in their home parishes
I have produced a register of those known at the time of writing and will expand on this as time goes on. These are approx within a max radius of 10 miles from Elsham and I will widen this out into the whole of North Lincs as time goes on. Most of these are located in North Lincs but several are just inside Lincolnshire.
Barrow-Upon-Humber Cemetery
5th August 1941 - AC2 Harold Woods RAFVR
Details unknown
Above - Harold Woods grave
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18th October 1943 – Cpl Harold Aubrey Stevens RAFVR – Age 26 – 44 MU - Son of Harold and Elsie Stevens of Barrow-upon-Humber.
Boulton Paul Defiant II – AA380 – P/O David J R Ritchie RAF and passenger – 44 MU - Test Flight.
18th October 1943 - Took off from 44 MU at Edzell, Brechin, Angus for a test flight. Aircraft stalled and crashed on approach. Both P/O Ritchie and Cpl Stevens were killed. P/O Ritchie was laid to rest at Kemback Old Churchyard, Fife, Scotland
Above - Harold A Stevens grave
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Barton-Upon-Humber New Cemetery
26th November 1939 – Sgt Kenneth Olford Skelton RAF – Age 24
Died of a head injury when knocked down by a motor vehicle in South Lincs area.
Above - Kenneth Skelton headstone.
Above - Kenneth Skelton grave
Above - Kenneth Skelton grave Caistor Cemetery.
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16th January 1942 – P/O Thomas George Cottier RCAF – Pilot - 419 Sqn - Son of Thomas Edward and Sadie Cottier; nephew of Mr. G. F. Cottier, of Bride, Isle of Man.
Wellington 1C – Z1145 – P/O T G Cottier RCAF and crew – Op Hamburg.
T/O 1810 from Mildenhall. Ran out of fuel on return and ditched at 0210 in the sea off Spurn Point. Two of the crew, Sgt A E Cox and Sgt J A H Lucas, were rescued two hours later and taken to Grimsby Hospital suffering from minor cuts and abrasions. Two of the crew, Sgt T N Pugh RCAF and P/O C N Lomas RCAF are missing and commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Flt. Sgt. Powell, the co-pilot, was found in the River Humber on the 4th April 1942 and he was laid to rest in the the RAF section of St. Mary’s Churchyard at Brandesburton, East Yorkshire The remains of Thomas Cottier were found in New Holland Dock on the 29th April 1942 on the South Bank of the Humber on the 29th April 1942 and he was laid to rest in Barton-Upon Humber New Cemetery.
For more info re Thomas Cottier see the Barton – Upon – Humber website here
Grave photo David Fell and Cottier newspaper clip the Canadian Virtual War Museum.
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Caistor Cemetery
28th November 1943 – Sgt Edward Cole RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 16 OTU - Son of James and Agnes Jane Cole; husband of Daisy Eunuce Cole.
Wellington III – X3923 – S/L W E Allinson DFC RAFVR and crew – 16 OTU - Training.
T/O from Upper Heyford for a night flying practise during which this aircraft collided with Wellington X HE904. Debris from the 2 machines was scattered in the area of Baynard's Green on the north east side of the airfield.
S/L William Ezekial Allison DFC was laid to rest at Greatham Church Cemetery, Sgt Robert Joseph William Dhering at Sunbury New Cemetery, W/O Vincent Kearney DFM at Wardley ( St Mary ) Roman Catholic Churchyard, Sgt Russell William McLachlan RCAF at Oxford Botley Cemetery and Sgt William Siddaway at Newcastle upon Tyne West Road Cemetery.
Above - Edward Cole grave
15th November 1940 – Sgt Joseph Argyle Hartop RAFVR – Pilot Under Training – 607 Sqn - Son of Joseph and Dorothy Vernon Hartop of Rhyl, Flintshire.
Hurricane I – P3305 – Sgt J A Hartop – 607 Sqn - Training.
T/O from Drem, East Lothian, stalled and crashed near Grangemouth.
His brother Charles William Hartop was killed less than 1 month earlier serving as a pilot with 44 Squadron. 21st October 1940 Hampden P2137. He is buried in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery.
Above - Joseph A Hartop grave.
Above - Joseph A Hartop grave with parents grave in background at Caistor Cemetery
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Caistor Congregational Chapelyard
9th March 1941 – AC2 Thomas John Varlow RAFVR – Age 30 - Son of Thomas John and Sarah Annie Skelton Varlow, of Caistor.
Details unknown
Above - Thomas J Varlow grave.
Above - Thomas J Varlow family grave Caistor Congregational Chapel
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North Kelsey Cemetery
28th May 1940 – AC1 Cyril Barrick RAFVR – 18 - Son of George William and Frances Barrick, of North Kelsey
Killed at Bracebridge Road, Lincoln when he was thrown from his motorcycle as he swerved to miss a woman that stepped into the road. Died at Lincoln Hospital soon after arrival.
Above - Cyril Barrick grave
Above - North Kelsey Cemetery
Above - North Kelsey War Memorial
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Scawby ( St Hibald ) Churchyard.
30th November 1918 – Lt Percy Ivan Rawlinson RAF – Age 28 – Son of Frank Rawlinson, husband of Frances Rawlinson.
Percy Rawlinson was a natural born British subject living in Kensington Victoria at the time of his enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force on the 10th May 1915. He was an engineer by profession. On his enlistment form he has declared 5 years service with a Scottish Regt - 2 years as a piper.
He was posted to the 2nd Field Artillery Battery as a Gunner and embarked from Melbourne Australia on HMT Persia 10th August 1915 for Egypt.
From there his unit embarked for the Gallipoli Peninsula on HMT Ionian 19th October 1915. Sadly on the 22nd November 1915 he was admitted to No 15 General Hospital SS Ulysses with Valvular Heart Disease.
On the 28th December 1915 he was discharged Class A to Mustapha Barracks, Alexandria, Egypt and on the 9th March 1916 he was taken on the strength of 23 Battery and later 21 Field Artillery Battery. At this stage he was posted to France.
On the 18th October 1916 he was off strength of the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples in France and transferred to England for training and promotion to commissioned rank in the Royal Flying Corps.
He was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force 16th March 1917 and transferred to the RFC. 26th January 1917 he was on Command for Instruction at Exeter College and commissioned to Second Lieutenant. He married in England in 1918 to Frances. They had one son - Percival Frank Rawlinson. Sadly he passed away on the 30th November 1918.
Above - Rawlinson family grave
Abobe Rawlinson family grave side view.
Above - St Hibald’s Church Scawby
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South Kelsey ( St Nicholas ) Churchyard
4th April 1944 – Sgt Sidney Chappell RAFVR – Flight Engineer – 19 – 5LFS - Son of Alfred Wright Chappell and Lauretta Chappell, of North Owersby.
Lancaster I – R5726 – F/O J D Murray RAAF and crew – General Flying Practise.
T/O 1455 Syerston. Dived out of low cloud at an angle of 45 degrees shedding fins, elevators and wing tips before crashing at 1545 about half a mile from Brenston, Nottinghamshire.
The 5 Australians, F/O J D Murray, F/S W H Keeble, F/O W L Towers, F/O F L Grimwood and F/S R G Williams wre laid to rest at Oxford ( Botley ) Cemetery. The rear gunner, Sgt R E J Sisley RAFVR was laid to rest at Dover ( Charlton ) Cemetery
Above - Sidney Chappell grave.
Above - Sidney Chappell grave South Kelsey
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