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Powell, Gerald Keith

Grave number 32 A
Rank Sgt. Pilot Nr. 920529 R.A.F. (V.R.)
Squadron 102 Squadron
Date of birth / age June 20, 1920 / 21 years
Reported missing August 15, 1941
Aircraft type Whitley V, Z-6829
Washed ashore August 16, 1941, crashed on the Boschplaat
Buried August 19, 1941
Father Walter Bertram Powell
Mother Helena Gwendolyn Powell
Partner  
Place of residence Putney, London, England
   
Details

Aircraft shot down.
4 Difficult to identify bodies recovered.
The bodies were buried simultaneously in graves 30, 31, 32A and 32B.
Buried in a joint grave with Richard Thomas Philp (grave 32 B) .

At 10:18 p.m. on the night of August 14, 1941, the Whitley Z6829 took off from Topcliffe, destined to carry out an attack on Hannover, Germany.
After take-off nothing more was heard from the aircraft and it did not return to base.
The aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberfeldwebel Paul Gildner and crashed into the Wadden Sea south of Terschelling at 04:48 a.m..
Four of the crew members were killed and two became prisoners of war.

De other crew members of the Z6829 were:
Pilot Officer Wadya Wellesley Bell-Towers (grave 30)
Flight Sergeant Louis Edward David Lindsay (grave 31)
Sergeant Richard Thomas Philp (grave 32B)
Sergeant TA Vermiglio (POW Stalag 357)
Sergeant Frank Wallace Penn (POW Stalag Luft 3)

The following notes about graves 30, 31, and 32 were found in the notebook of the then mayor Reinders:

Mass grave 30-31-32, three coffins containing remains of 4 Eng. airmen, whose aircraft crashed on the Boschplaat.
Of the crew of 6, 1 was wounded and found immediately.
A second fled and was picked up the next day.
These two were transferred to Harlingen.
Names unknown.

Below is the original note:



It is not known who the women in this photo are.



Gerald with his brothers Geoffrey and Edward.



A LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL NOT SEE ME: AND AGAIN A LITTLE WHILE, AND YE SHALL SEE ME