| Flying Officer
John Rosser
was serving as
Navigator aboard Lancaster Mk. III
ND-649 coded TL-C
during an operation to
to the synthetic oil plants at Wanne-Eickel
on September 12, 1944.
The aircraft took off from Graveley at 12135hrs and crashed
approximately two hours later
at
Gelsenkirchen-Bismark killing
everyone aboard including F/O Rosser. The crew were initially buried
at Gelsenkirchen but were later re-interred in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. The
crew consisted of:
|
Name |
Service |
Trade |
Hometown |
Age |
|
F/O Donald Campbell |
RAFVR |
Pilot |
- |
- |
|
F/Sgt Frederick Harmsworth-Smith |
RAFVR |
Flight Engineer |
Reading, Berkshire |
24 |
|
F/O Ronald Toomer |
RAFVR |
Bomb Aimer |
Wells,Somerset |
27 |
|
F/Sgt William Mintjens |
RAFVR |
Wop/AG |
Romford,Essex |
24 |
|
F/Sgt Joseph Robinson |
RAFVR |
Air Gunner |
Brookwood,Surrey |
23 |
|
Sgt Francis Davidson |
RAFVR |
Air Gunner |
Sandhead,Wigtownshire |
21 |
Flying Officer John Radford Rosser RAFVR aged 22 brother of
Stanley
(who served in the Royal marines and survived the Normandy landings)
and also Hubert.
He was the son of John and Rosa Rosser of Penylan,
Cardiff,
Wales.
John Rosser won a place at Howardian Grammar school in Cardiff
where he excelled academically. He was also a Queen’s Scout before
joining the RAF at the age of 18/19. He completed a tour of forty
operations and was scheduled to serve as an instructor in Canada
once he completed an additional ten ops for which he volunteered.
 |
|
John's Grave Marker |
|
