No. 1872241, Flight Sergeant (W/Op-Air Gnr), Harold James BURTON
Aged 20
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It is believed he was the son of Thomas Glister and Emily Elizabeth BURTON (née GRANGER), born in 1924 (Peterborough Q1-1924 3B:333) In the 1939 register his father [27-9-1899] roadman, mother [5-8-1895] and grandfather George GRANGER [6-8-1856] retired horse man, were at Carlton Green, South Cambs. There is one closed record. His father was born in Willingham, had lived in Peterborough and in Weston Colville. On an operation from RAF Scampton on the night of 20th/21st February 1945, target Dortmund, Lancaster Mk1 NN785 c/sign P4-D crashed at Hasslinghausen. It was only their second operation in this aircraft. Shot down, they crash landed at Stefansbogge, near Hasslinghausen in the Ruhr, SE of Essen. The pilot F/Lt William.Holman (RCAF), navigator F/O Robert Taylor (RCAF), bomb-aimer WO Victor Reynolds (RCAF) and rear gunner F/Sgt Anthony Kall (RCAF) survived the crash and were taken prisoners of war. The other four, 2nd pilot F/O Peter Thorne (RAFVR), W/op-Air Gunr F/Sgt Harold Burton (RAFVR), mid upper gunnwer - F/Sgt Edric Neill (RCAF), and flight engineer - Sgt Arthur Martin (RAF) were killed. Initially James was buried in Dortmund Friedhof, but after the war these graves were consolidated into the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Thanks to the Kall family there is this photo of the survivors (presumably in a POW camp), from left to right they are:- F/Sgt Kall, F/Lt Holman, F/O Taylor and WO Reynolds.
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photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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