Adley, R. C.
Ronald Charles Adley, 633816. He was an Aircraftman 1st Class, Royal Air Force. He was taken as a Far East prisoner of war in 1942, held at Thailand (Hintok), and he died from cholera on 1 August 1943, aged 21. He had been helping to nurse his sick and wounded comrades who had been working on the Siam-Burma Railway. When his friend George returned to camp in the evening he was told that Ron had died, along with five others. He helped to cremate Ron's body.

Ron's ashes were buried at the Hintock River cemetery, and later moved by the CWGC to the war cemetery at Chungkai (8 H 5), which is a hamlet by the River Kwai Noi.

George never forgot his friend, and regularly inserted "in memoriam" notices in the Dover Express and Folkestone Herald. Ron's name was added to the Town War Memorial in 1995 and he is also commemorated at the Far East POW church at Wymindham, Norfolk. A tree was planed in his memory at the National Memorial Arboretum on 1ast January 1998.

Ron had brothers and sisters: Charlie, Doris, Fred, Robert, and Rose. They were the children of Charles Outridge and Minnie Gertrude Adley, of 22 Primrose Road, Dover, and grandchildren of Ellen Mary Adley. On his gravestone is inscribed "Always faithful, good, and kind, A beautiful memory left behind."   

with thanks to Rose King
the announcement reads: Ronald Charles Adley, AC1633816 RAF. In memory of my friend Ron, who died on 1 August 1943 whilst a prisoner of war of the Japanese in Tahiland. As a nursing orderly Ron gave up his own life nursing other comrades and friends so that they might live. Per Ardua Ad Astra. George Money, Harlow, Essex.

Ronald Adley's Father, Grandmother, and a Brother

left: Charles Otridge Adley. He was born in 1885 in London, and died in 1960 in Dover.  right: Ellen Mary Adley, Charles' mother, born in 1867 in Dover. Her brother Fredrick was father to Sidney Adley, Great War casualty left: Frederick William Adley, brother to Ronald, born at Lewisham in 1918. and died 1978 in Dover.   with thanks to Lee Adley Stevens more on this family can be found on the Adley-Stevens website

  (article) (Exhibition 06)   (cousin Sidney Adley) 

Bones, J. F H.
John Frederick Harry Bones, 934810 was a Lance Bombardier in the 24 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.  He was a fly driver transporting jerry cans of fuel. On 8th May 1943 a long range struck one of the cans and it ignited. He and his companion, Newman, tried to throw the cans from the lorry, but the fire spread and the lorry blew up. John Bones was 23 when he died.

He left a widow, Elsie Margaret, and children. His sons had been evacuated to Bognor Regis from Dover, and they were sent home when the roof was destroyed by bombing. Raymond, the younger, was just three and a half, and a week after they returned to Dover the telegram arrived at Goschen Road, announcing his father's death. It reads:

 "REGRET INFORM 934810 JOHN FREDERICK HARRY BONES DIED IRAQ 8 MAY 43 CONFIRMATION FOLLOWS ARTILLERY RECORDS SIDCUP"

John Bones is buried in the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery in Iraq, 23 H 14. His wife remarried and had more children, but always remembered her first husband. In 1998 she had his name added to the Town Memorial. John Bones is also commemorated at his home village of Chilham, Kent.        

with thanks to Raymond Mercieca

Bourner, A. (E.) J.
Albert Edward James Bourner, 89074. Known as Bert or "Dusty", he was a Flying Officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, 48 Squadron. He went to St Martin's school, and later worked on the Dover trams and the East Kent buses.

His Hudson was reported missing over Norway during the night of 6th-7th January 1942. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 66, and on the River Memorial. He left a wife, Mrs Bourner, nee Eckhoff. His parents were at the time staying at 41 Holden Park Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells.

A gravestone at River reads:

In Loving Memory of a Dear Dad Albert Thomas Bourner Died 2nd March 1946? Aged 64. And his wife Florence May A dear mum Died 8th July 1987 Aged 99.

Also of their eldest son Albert Edward James Missing in action 7th January 1942 Aged 28. Reunited.

transcribed by Joyce Banks
picture, Memorial at St Peter's and St Paul's, River

Coe, C. R.
Cyril Rupert Coe,1409939, was a Sergeant Air Gunner in the RAF Volunteer Reserve. His nephew has constructed a most beautiful written memorial to his uncle. What follow are extracts from that memorial.   

Cyril was born on 26^th August 1922 at 95 Clarendon Street, Dover, one of 6 children of John and Adelaide C. A, (née Austen) Coe both born Dovorians. The children in order of birth were Ada A., Reginald J., Percival C. (he died aged five years whilst his father was on active service in France with the army during the First World War), Douglas V., Cyril R., and Eric W. Coe. All of the boys served their country during the Second World War, all surviving except Cyril. 

Cyril attended Christ Church School. After leaving school he worked at “The International Stores” which was a grocer’s in Woolcomber Street. He was a member of the Western Heights Church Choir and served in the Home Guard in Dover until 1941.

The family house where he was lived was 95 Clarendon Street and was also the family Greengrocery Shop. It suffered a direct hit by bombs dropped by a pair of Messerschmitt 109s on Wednesday 2nd October 1940. His  mother and a customer whom she was serving at the time escaped with only minor injuries, but his mother from then on did suffer hearing problems. The house was completely demolished. His mother and father were offered shelter in South Wales near to where Eric the youngest son had been sent as an evacuee from Dover in 1940.

Cyril stayed in Dover until 1941 and then moved to South Wales to join his family prior to joining the RAF. Whilst awaiting entry to the RAF he worked for a short time at Saunders Valve Works, in Cwmbran, South Wales. Cyril volunteered for service in the RAF and enlisted on 25^th June 1941.

Whilst serving with the RAF and seeing first hand the crews returning from operations he told his family that he was not doing enough, so volunteered for air crew as an Air Gunner, starting his training on 13^th July 1943. Nearing completion of his training as a “Middle Upper Gunner” he was sent to “1661 Heavy Conversion Unit” at RAF Winthorpe near Newark, Nottinghamshire, which flew Sterling Bombers. 

On the night of 17^th May 1944 they took off from Winthorpe at 23.34 in Stirling III Bomber EE956, on a night gunnery/navigation exercise. Within twenty minutes severe icing was encountered. This led to loss of control of the aircraft, which spiralled down. According to the official report “The aircraft broke up in cumulus cloud and caught fire following loss of control, the icing index was high. It was thought that the excessive loads imposed by the loss of control caused a structural failure of the tail." (I have been told this was quite common on Stirling Bombers)

The Board of Inquiry considered that the pilot had not been given sufficient training on instrument flying in view of previous reports indicating a weakness in this respect. The pilot was assessed as being weak on instrument flying, which may have been a contributory factor.

At around 23.53, most of the debris crashed into an Iron Stone Quarry a mile northwest of Rothwell, near Kettering, Northamptonshire. All the crew consisting of nine men were killed. Four were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the rest being normal Royal Air Force crew.

The crew members were:

(Sgt Arthur P. Hebbes. Flight Engineer from Faversham, Kent had been married only a few weeks).

A local historian, who as an adult remembered the crash, wrote, "One thing that I do remember is that the wreckage was over quite a large area.  The crash must have been very bad because we found a pair of flying boots, but one boot was still occupied. This was very upsetting for me as an 11 year old boy."

The main crash site of Stirling Bomber EE956 was in an Iron Stone Quarry that was filled in when work in the quarry finished. A spinney of trees was planted over the site of the Quarry. The spinney was in 1994 named “Stirling Spinney” in remembrance of the crew who perished there

.

Cyril Coe's name was placed on the Town Memorial in 1995. He is buried in St James' cemetery, Dover

1409930 Sergeant C.R. Coe Air Gunner Royal Air Force 17th May 1944 Age 21 Though he passed the way of heroes, we proudly mourn our loss R.I.P

Cyril Coe's grave is close to Jack Pulham's, another RAF casualty from Dover

illustrations: Stirling Spinney from a Christmas card from Cyril to his brother, 1942 the escape hatch from the bomber Cyril's lucky heather; probably picked when he visited his parents in Wales

with thanks to Peter Coe     (We Remember 06)

Coombe, E. B.
Ernest Boucher Coombe was a World War I casualty, added to the memorial in the 1990s. Information about him may currently be found in this article

Craven, A.
Alfred Craven, 1896929, a Flight Sergeant in the RAF,  was 5' 7" tall, with blue eyes and light brown hair. He was born in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire on 19th September 1911 to Ellen Craven, the daughter of William and Elizabeth. He went to Wainfleet Wesleyan School, and between 1924 to 1925 he was a member of the football team at the school. On 26th September 1927 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. There he played the flute and the euphonium as a musician in the army band.

In March 1928 Alfred went to India with his regiment, and in December 1928 to Sudan. They then returned to England, where the regiment was eventually stationed at the Old Park Barracks in Dover. Alfred often played with the band on the bandstand at Dover seafront. There he met Elsie Sharpe, who was to become his wife. Soldiers then were not allowed to marry until they were 34 years old, and had to buy themselves out of the service for £30 in order to get married. This Alfred did, and he joined the Dover Fire Service in 1934. 

The couple married in October 1936, and lived at Malmains Road, Dover. Their daughter Patricia was born there in July 1937, and the next year the new family bought a home at Farthingloe Road. The year after war broke out and Alfred continued his work in the Fire Service, with alternating duties in London and Dover. But although this occupation was exempt from military service and Alfred was doing a dangerous and much-needed job, the taunts of neighbours led to Alfred's joining up. In 1943 he became an airgunner in the RAF.

In July 1944, after training, Alfred was in 619 Squadron, on loan to 44 Southern Rhodesian Squadron in Lincolnshire. On the night of 26th July, Alfred and his crew took off from Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire, at 21.19 in Avro Lancaster PB346 PG-J. It was their first mission, a raid on the Railway Yard at Givours, central France, with 178 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos taking part.

Two Mosquitos and four Lancasters were lost. Alfred Craven's was one of them. When they were returning from Givours in the early hours of 27th July they were shot down and crashed on fire near La Boissiere sur Evre, France. They were so badly burnt that all seven of them were buried there in just three coffins. Many local people attended their funeral service, bearing flowers. 

The crew that were lost were:

A ten foot high marble monument stands in the field where the Lancaster crashed. The crew rest at La Boissiere sur Evre, near Angers, France. There are headstones by the graves. Alfred's reads,

"Deep in our hearts a memory is kept.
We loved him too dearly to ever forget".

with thanks to Patricia Davis
with thanks to Dean Sumner, for RAF information