JENKINS William Howard Roger

Appears on the Royal Air Force casualties list for Worcestershire.

William flew on Lancaster bombers and had already completed one tour of duty (25 operations), including a raid on Dresden, when he was killed in action on a mission over Germany.

A letter from William’s mother, Mrs Annie Jenkins, Keepers Hill, Crowle, dated 22nd March 1952 can be found within war records held at Worcestershire Archives requesting that his name be added to the county roll of honour.  The letter states that Flight Sergeant W.H.R. Jenkins died on the 11th April 1945 on a raid over Leipzig on his 30th operation over Germany.

The inscription on the memorial reads:
IN HONOURED MEMORY OF
FT/SGT. WILLIAM H.R. JENKINS
KILLED IN ACTION OVER LEIPZIG
APRIL 11TH 1945 AGED 22 YEARS
ERECTED BY HIMBLETON YOUTH CLUB

The following information is courtesy and copyright of Joanna Sassoon, niece of the pilot of William’s Lancaster on that fateful night:
The Lancaster Bomber was on a mission to Leipzig on the night of 10/11 April 1945. It was the 72nd mission of the pilot Richard Sassoon, with a crew that by all reports was closer than family. As a rear gunner, Ivor Lynn was seated at the back of the plane and survived the first explosion which blew him out of the plane. Sitting near the nose of the plane, bomb aimer Paddy (Patrick) Fleming experienced compression that rendered him unable to move, yet he survived being blown out in the second explosion with his parachute half on. Both men landed clear of the plane, which blew up after hitting the ground. The two men were reunited in Bitterfeld concentration camp where they were shown the ID cards of two of the crew. After their release 3 days later by the Americans, they learned that the crew had been buried in a single grave at Glebitzsch, and they returned to the wreckage and found objects owned by the crew.

Further information and photographs relating to the crash can be found on Joanna’s blog page:
https://jmsassoon.wordpress.com/

Link still valid 3rd July 2024