Dennis William Hale
Memorial: Staple Hill - Page Park
Regiment: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Medals: 1939–45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Sergeant Air Gunner
Parents: William and Elsie Hale
Home address: Mangotsfield
Pre-war occupation: Clerk
Date of birth: 03/12/1924
Date of death: 02/11/1944
Buried/Commemorated at: He is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery and commemorated on Staple Hill War Memorial
Age: 19
Further information:
Son of an engineer who worked at the docks, Dennis was the eldest of 2 boys. Dennis’s Lancaster bomber was one of 184 Lancasters tasked with bombing an oil plant in Homberg Germany. He took off from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk but his plane was hit by flak on the run up to the target. 3 engines caught fire and the pilot gave the order for the crew to bale out before the plane lost control. However, only 3 of the crew managed to do so successfully, the remainder dying when the plane hit the ground. Dennis is buried alongside 3 other crew members.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
http://aircrewremembered.com/cass-ronald-foster.html
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/