I live quite close to Woodlands road cemetery in Gillingham, Kent and there is a large collection of CWGC graves, mainly Naval from HMS Pembroke and the Maritime hospital (now Medway Maritime). I spend a lot of time walking around there and like to look up some of the names and see what stories are attached to them and find out about the lives of those that have passed. Sometimes there isn’t much, sometimes there isn’t anything and other times there is a wealth of information.
I thought I’d share two of the lives I’ve found about.
Pilot Officer Ronald Atkinson of 213 Squadron who was the son of Gilbert and Florence of Gillingham, joined the RAFVR at the age of 18 in February 1939.
As the Second World War began he was called up for training and given a commission the following May, just in time for deployment to France as part of 242 Squadron and was based at Chateaudun where they helped to cover the British withdrawals on the 8th June.
He served through the Battle of Britain as part of 600 and 111 squadron before finally being posted to the Tangmere based 213 Squadron flying Hurricanes. It was with 213 that he got his first kill, a Bf 109 on the 30th September.
Fatefully on the 17th October at 16:30 the squadron took off on patrol and led by Squadron Leader MacDonald with Ronald flying “G” P3174. They were moved to intercept a formation of enemy aircraft unknowing that it was a Freijagd fighter sweep of Bf 109 fighters with some 109 Jagdbombers.
These fighter sweeps had been going on for most of the day and it was the fourth such wave operating over Kent and was made up of sixty 109s operating in three waves attacking Kenley airfield.
213 Squadron were engaged by the Messerschmitts and two Hurricanes were lost. Sergeant Stevens survived his ordeal but Ronald was killed and his fighter crashed at Weekes Farm, Pluckley. He was 19 years old.
At the family request he was buried locally at Woodlands Road Cemetery.
Lieutenant John Scrace of the 5th Btn East Kent Regiment “Buffs” - also the 21st Training depot of the RAF was born on the 31st July 1892 in Luton, Chatham to John and Adelaide Scrace who lived at Beacon Lodge. His father was a Relieving Officer for the Medway Board of Guardians and his mother a Child Protection visitor for the same Board of Guardians - so quite well to do.
He would go on to study at Peterhouse, Cambridge and attained a BA degree.
During his time with the Buffs he attained Musketery First class award and qualified with a Lewis Gun and served for 18 months as the Battalion bombing officer and went on to gain a certificate in bombing and instructor for the battalion on effective bombing.
On the 24th May 1918 he transferred from the Army to the fledging RAF and (if I’m reading the records right) was qualified on the Sopwith Pup and B.E.12
He was killed in a flying accident at Driffield, Yorkshire on the 24th August 1918.
According to the Hull times he was preforming a loop the loop that afternoon when the wings gave way.
The cause of the accident was due to the fact that for reasons unknown part of the top of the left hand plane of the machine crumpled up in the air and thereby (caused) the pilot to lose control of his machine.
The aircraft hurtled to the ground killing him instantly.
And his machine, which was broken to matchwood, smashed three out of five telegraph wires at the roadside. The engine was buried in the earth and the officer had been terribly injured.
The Inquest found that he was “Accidentally killed whilst flying an aeroplane, of which he was the pilot.”
He was originally brought home and buried in the family vault at Luton Christchurch but the graveyard there has long since been disused and overgrown. The graves are in a poor state and only some of the larger, more expensive ones remained legible. The decision was taken to erect a CWGC grave marker in the plots at Woodlands Road with the other fallen. A note on his CWGC paperwork reads:
The grave naked A.C. is now commemorated by a Special memorial Type F. in Gillingham (Woodlands) Cemetery. (Amended 7.1.86)