Flight Sergeant Stanley John Collett
Date of Birth Circa 1920
Place of Birth
Air Force Branch RAF (VR)
Rank Flt Sgt
Service Number 1186962
Awards
Date of Death 19/08/1942
Squadron No 3 OTU
Aircraft type Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V BD233 'U'
Location of Memorial Runnymede Memorial Panel 73
Next of Kin Son of Ernest Reginald John and Emma Elizabeth Collett, of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Whilst on a training flight from RAF Cranfield on the 19/08/1942, AW Whitley BD233 was seen to approach Long Newton from the see and then turned north towards Beadnell beach. It then passed over Links House at a very low altitude before crashing just south of Long Nanny Burn. The resulting crash carved a path through the sand dunes as the aircraft broke up. Eyewitness reports suggest that the aircraft may have struck friendly shipping in the North sea. Six airmen were to loose their lives in this tragic accident Flt Sgt S J Collet from Chippenham, Wiltshire among them.The news of Flt Sgt Collet's loss was reported in the Wiltshire Gazette on the 3rd September 1942;
Chippenham Man Believed Dead.
Mr and Mrs E Collett of 15 Dover Street, Chippenham have been notified that their second son, Sgt/Pilot Stanley John Collett is missing believed to have lost his life on active service. Aged 22, Sgt/Pilot Collett was educated at the Secondary School and then joined the booking office staff at the Chippenham Railway Station.
He volunteered for flying duties with the RAF and was accepted for training in August 1940 taking his wings the following July. For about a year he had been on operational duty with the Coastal Command. Two days before died he had been the best man at the wedding of his elder brother Roy.
Place of Birth
Air Force Branch RAF (VR)
Rank Flt Sgt
Service Number 1186962
Awards
Date of Death 19/08/1942
Squadron No 3 OTU
Aircraft type Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V BD233 'U'
Location of Memorial Runnymede Memorial Panel 73
Next of Kin Son of Ernest Reginald John and Emma Elizabeth Collett, of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Whilst on a training flight from RAF Cranfield on the 19/08/1942, AW Whitley BD233 was seen to approach Long Newton from the see and then turned north towards Beadnell beach. It then passed over Links House at a very low altitude before crashing just south of Long Nanny Burn. The resulting crash carved a path through the sand dunes as the aircraft broke up. Eyewitness reports suggest that the aircraft may have struck friendly shipping in the North sea. Six airmen were to loose their lives in this tragic accident Flt Sgt S J Collet from Chippenham, Wiltshire among them.The news of Flt Sgt Collet's loss was reported in the Wiltshire Gazette on the 3rd September 1942;
Chippenham Man Believed Dead.
Mr and Mrs E Collett of 15 Dover Street, Chippenham have been notified that their second son, Sgt/Pilot Stanley John Collett is missing believed to have lost his life on active service. Aged 22, Sgt/Pilot Collett was educated at the Secondary School and then joined the booking office staff at the Chippenham Railway Station.
He volunteered for flying duties with the RAF and was accepted for training in August 1940 taking his wings the following July. For about a year he had been on operational duty with the Coastal Command. Two days before died he had been the best man at the wedding of his elder brother Roy.
Sources: CWGC,www.rafcommands.com/forum (Ross McNeill) and www.pastscape.org, Photograph Clive Lewis