Horatio James Rennie Dunn

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: Royal Air Force

Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945

Rank and number: Pilot Officer 33411

Parents: George and Rose Hannah Dunn

Marital status: Married

Home address: 24 Elm Park, Filton, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Air Force Pilot

Date of birth: 12/04/1917

Place of birth: Filton, Bristol

Date of death: 01/06/1940

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Henham St. Mary Churchyard, Uttlesford District, Essex. Not commemorated on a local memorial

Age: 23

Further information:

Horatio was born and baptised in Filton. He was the son of an electrical engineer and a pupil at Kingswood Grammar School where in 1937 he won both the Viscount Wakefield Scholarship and a cadetship to RAF Cranwell. He trained for two years as a pilot and in 1938 gained the Air Ministry prize for highest marks in aeronautical engineering. On the outbreak of war, Horatio was based with 87 squadron in Debden Essex, and it is there that he is likely to have met his future wife Denise Elizabeth Foster whom he married in Dunmow in Essex less than four months before he died. Horatio's records state that in November 1939 he had to make a forced landing in Belgium but survived unharmed.

Horatio's squadron (the 87 Squadron) was part of the Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force and in May 1940, it helped to give air cover on the Northern Front until the squadron’s French airfields were captured. Horatio's records state that he was injured twice during that period. After the retreat from France, 87 squadron went to re-equip at Yorkshire. On the day of his death, Horatio was piloting Hawker Hurricane P3519 on a training flight from RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire. He was over the area to the north of Leeds when he failed to recover from a stalled turn, reported to have left him insufficient height to pull out of the dive. Horatio was killed when his aircraft crashed at 12.30 hours near RAF Yeadon, West Yorkshire.

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/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=21946