BUCKLAND, Peter George

Runnymede Air Forces Memorial, Surrey UKCredit: Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Flight Sergeant (Navigator)
214 Squadron RAF Oulton, Norfolk
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Peter was born 1922 in Brading to George Vernon & Mabel Constance (nee PALMER) BUCKLAND.

Educated in Newport, Peter, aged 22, was the navigator aboard a Boeing Fortress aircraft, which took off from Oulton on the 9th of February 1945, at 0329, tasked with dispensing ‘window*’ west of the Ruhr in support of an operation in Krefeld. At 0430 it was seen to be flying very low over Romney & Lydd. Witnesses stated that they heard the aircraft diving towards the sea & then heard a muffled thud. A Coast Guard Watcher at Denge Marsh was of the opinion that the aircraft attempted to land on the foreshore, bounced up & crashed into the sea. Debris was found on the shore above the high tide mark which seemed to confirm that. The body of the pilot was washed ashore at Dungeness; Peter’s body was never found & so he is commemorated by the Commission on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey.

Peter is also remembered on the Newport Borough War Memorial.

CWGC Casualty Record

Cemetery

Sons & Daughters Commemorated Far From Home

Those from the Newport & Carisbrooke area who are buried or commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission outside of the area, both in the UK and in other countries.

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The image is of the Tyne Cot Military Cemetery & Memorial in Belgium.