WW2 Air force burials in Kidlington, Oxon

Discussion in 'War Cemeteries & War Memorial Research' started by JMP, May 15, 2010.

  1. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Hi Tim,
    See what information you can retrieve from this thread from the start on the three Australians (2 RAAF and 1 RAF) and I can provide some more for the other two Australians.
    FALKINER, LEIGH BRERETON SADLEIR Leading Aircraftman 1384158 15 SFTS 12-02-1942 20 Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve UK Sec. B. Grave 7. KIDLINGTON BURIAL GROUND

    LANGLEY, RAY THOMAS Flight Sergeant 416971 20 AFU 27-06-1943 24 Royal Australian Air Force Australian Sec. B. Grave 14. KIDLINGTON BURIAL GROUND

    STEWART, WILLIAM HARRINGTON DAVY (DFM) Pilot Officer 404117 15 SFTS 31-12-1941 25 Royal Australian Air Force Australian Sec. B. Grave 4. KIDLINGTON BURIAL GROUND

    I have attached the photos taken in 2010 to compare however I would appreciate a general photo of the cemetery if you could. Kidlington Burial Ground 1384158 Falkiner_LBS.JPG Kidlington Burial Ground Langley_RT.JPG Kidlington Burial Ground Stewart_WHD.JPG

    Cheers

    Geoff
     
    CL1 likes this.
  2. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Leigh Brereton Sadleir Falkiner was my father's cousin ... Both killed in air crashes in 1942. I'm struggling to get info on Leigh's death - I thought I read somewhere that he was coming in to land in bad visibility and hit high-tension wires near Oxford...(in Feb) (He was about to get his 'wings'...) Can't find that source so if anyone can fill in for me, that would be great.
    My father F/Lt John Alexander Falkiner was killed (Sept) in conversion course (Wellingtons to Halifaxes) - rudder stall being demonstrated wasn't overcome, so he & 3 others were killed... (After that, the item was taken off the training list....!)
    Does anyone know when no.3 P.R.C. moved from Uxbridge to Bournemouth?
     
  3. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Geoff - do you have the photo of my father's stone in Wootton churchyard - if not, I can send it
     
  4. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    LAC (Pilot u/t) L.B.S. Falkiner - 1384158 and LAC P. Cockburn - 1382945, both 15 FTS, were killed when their Oxford V3906 hit HT cables; crashed Laural Farm near Bicester, 1145h.
    Australian Casualties - Page 2
     
  5. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    "My project is the collection of over 11,400+ RAAF Headstone/Memorial photos located in 70 countries during WW2 and the 360+ from WW1. Can you assist? Do you know someone that can?"

    Cheers

    Geoff
    ----------------------------------------------

    Geoff - do you have the photo of my father's stone in Wootton St Lawrence churchyard? If not, I can send it.
    Jeanne (nee Falkiner)
     
  6. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Thanks for the link, CL1 - still not clear where the copy of the report was obtained from but I'm hoping the person you've linked to will answer that question. Interesting that the report says the plane was an Oxford - I thought Leigh came down close to his base near Oxford and that's why he was buried in Kidlington... Am I right in assuming he was probably based at RAF Kidlington?
     
  7. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Not had an reply to this question - was L.B.S. Falkiner definitely based at RAF Kidlington at the time of his crash, as seems likely?
     
  8. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello
    Do you have his service records
     
  9. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Hi Clive
    No - I’ve been using Internet from Mexico since starting my research in Jan... Have no service records for Leigh, only for his cousin (my father) JA Falkiner (had to pay for those to be digitised at NAA). Do you have access to LBS Falkiner’s records?
    I’m seeing 15FTS as being based at a lot of RAF stations, including Kidlington.

    Thanks for any help you can give,

    Jeanne

    www.svnereida.com
     
  10. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  11. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Thanks for that, Clive.
     
  12. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Thanks for that, Clive.

    Will those records be available to look at if I were to visit Kew - with a request made in advance, I presume?

    (Sorry for repetition - having Internet problems here...)
     
  13. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  14. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Hi Clive,
    Yes - read through those and printed off the forms.
    Will Kew not have any info at all - relating to crash...?

    Thanks,

    Jeanne
     
  15. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    this is the detail of the crash
    LAC (Pilot u/t) L.B.S. Falkiner - 1384158 and LAC P. Cockburn - 1382945, both 15 FTS, were killed when their Oxford V3906 hit HT cables; crashed Laural Farm near Bicester, 1145h.
     
  16. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Yes - that's what I keep seeing - but there's no record of any 'Laurel Farm' (presume 'Laural' is a mis-spelling!) in the Bicester area - although a farm might well have changed its name since then, of course.
    Bicester is not very far from Kidlington - and there's no 'Laurel Farm' near Kidlington either... So it's a bit of a mystery. I'd have hoped for more precise location info somewhere - but only the same "crashed Laural Farm near Bicester," keeps being quoted - frustrating!

    Where did you get that 'detail of the crash' from?

    Thanks for your help,

    Jeanne
     
  17. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello Jeanne
    Many farms in the UK have either changed hands or been sold for development since the end of WW2.
    Laurel Farm, High Street, Charlton On Otmoor, Kidlington OX5 2UG
    if you go to google street view
    it looks like there is an old farm house now a private residence with houses built on the farm land so assumed after the war it was sold for housing
    also along the road a couple of miles away another development
    Laurel Farm, Islip Road, Kidlington, OX5 3DP

    regards
    Clive
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2018
  18. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  19. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

    Thanks a lot, Clive. I've just been exploring the area using Google Maps - good resource! Both of those places look possible (nice old stone walls and gate entrances showing up!). There's also a newish 'Laurel Farm' housing development I've just heard about, on outskirts of Bicester (Launton) - plus some HT power lines heading SW and then S from Bicester. I'm about to contact Bicester LHS in hope they have some info....
     
  20. Nereida

    Nereida "Life is precious - make the most of it!"

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