The Wartime Memories Project

- No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -


Air Force Index
skip to content


This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.


If you enjoy this site

please consider making a donation.




    Site Home

    WW2 Home

    Add Stories

    WW2 Search

    Library

    Help & FAQs


 WW2 Features

    Airfields

    Allied Army

    Allied Air Forces

    Allied Navy

    Axis Forces

    Home Front

    Battles

    Prisoners of War

    Allied Ships

    Women at War

    Those Who Served

    Day-by-Day

    Library

    The Great War

 Submissions

    Add Stories

    Time Capsule

    TWMP on Facebook



    Childrens Bookshop

 FAQ's

    Help & FAQs

    Glossary

    Volunteering

    Contact us

    News

    Bookshop

    About


Advertisements











World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force



   210 Squadron was first formed at St.Pol on the 12th of February 1917, as part of the Royal Naval Air Service based in Flanders. It was disbanded and reformed several times before teh outbreak of the Second World War.

In September 1939, 210 Squadron were flying Sunderlands on patrols over the North Sea and Altantic. In April 1941 they converted to Catalinas.

The Squadron was disbanded on the on 4th of June 1945.


Airfields 210 Squadron flew from.
  • Pembroke Dock. Sep 1939 to 18th Jul 1940
  • Oban. 18th Jul 1940 to Feb 1942 & Oct 1942 to Apr 1943
  • Sullom Voe, Shetland. Feb to Oct 1942 & Jan 1944 to Jun 1945
  • Hamworthy Junction. Apr to Dec 1943

    Detachments:

    • Invergordon, Cromarty. 1st Oct to 8th Nov 1939 & 24th Nov to 6th Jun 1940.
    • Oban. 16th Nov 1939 to 17th Jul 1940
    • Sullom Voe, Shetland. 30th Nov 1939 to 6th Dec 1939 & 9th Apr to Jun 1940
    • Reykjavik, Iceland. 24th to 28th May 1941 & 26th Jun to 14th Jul 1941 & 11th to 15th Aug 1941
    • Gibraltar Harbour. Oct 1942 to Dec 1943
    • Pembroke Dock. Nov 1944 to 4th Jun 1945


 

16th January 1941 New Squadron formed

13th August 1942 Operation Orator launched

6th September 1942 Move to Russia completed

23rd September 1942 U-Boat sinking claimed

17th February 1943 New anti-submarine squadron formed

30th July 1943 U-Boat group attacked

31st December 1943 Coastal Command squadron renumbered

17th of July 1944 


If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.



Logbooks



Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession?

If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you.

View Logbook entries



Those known to have served with

No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

  • Brooks Ronald Frank. Sgt. (d.23rd May 1941)
  • Cannings Arthur. Sgt. (d.25th March 1944)
  • Cannings Arthur Victor.
  • Cruickshank VC. John Alexander. F/Lt.
  • Evans John Henry.
  • Evans AFC. Trevor Nicholas. Warrant Officer
  • Fitzgerald Reginald George. Sgt. (d.2nd Sep 1940)
  • Fosh Benjamin Joseph. Sgt. (d.13th Jan 1943)
  • Gibson George Tod Wright. Flt.Sgt. (d.22nd March 1943)
  • Gill William. SAC.
  • Hall William James. Flt.Sgt.
  • Jeynes Kenneth. Flt.Sgt. (d.3rd Apr 1945)
  • Keddie Wallace Arthur Robert. F/Lt. (d.16th May 1942)
  • Maples John Maurice. P/O.
  • Morris Eilwyn Rees. LAC. (d.29th June 1940)
  • Orton Gilbert Joseph. Sgt. (d.22nd March 1943)
  • Parry-Jones Peter Denys. Flt.Lt. (d.2nd Sep 1940)
  • Silva DFC. Geoffrey. F/O. (d.13th Jun 1943)
  • Sleigh Edward J. P/O (d.4th Nobember 1942)
  • Stone Norman Leslie.
  • Toner Thomas. WO.
  • Wilkes Harold. LAC.
  • Wilson Robert. F/Lt.

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.



The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

Announcements



  • The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 24 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
  • 28th March 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263784 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
  • Looking for help with Family History Research?   Please read our Family History FAQ's
  • The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
    If you enjoy this site

    please consider making a donation.


Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text.



We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates.

If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page.


Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home.

If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.





Want to know more about No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force?


There are:2007 items tagged No. 210 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.


Sgt. Reginald George Fitzgerald 210 Sqd. (d.2nd Sep 1940)

My Great Uncle Reginald George Fitzgerald was attached to 210 Squadron as a Sargeant flying Short Sunderlands. He died aged 20, missing in action on the 2nd September 1940, I am not sure whether he was stationed at Pembroke Dock at that time. His name is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Michael FitzGerald



P/O. John Maurice Maples No. 210 Squadron

My father, Pilot Officer John Maples, was posted to the Shetland Islands, RAF Sullom Voe, from April 1944 until June 1945. He then joined No. 86 Squadron transporting troops to India via Cairo West until de-mobilisation in January 1946. He told me many stories about his time in the Shetland Islands, of which one has always intrigued me. Apparently, there was an instance when a Mosquito pilot flying on one engine had to make an emergency landing. After doing so, the pilot took hours to stop shaking. I once read a piece on Guy Gibson VC, and he was forced to make an emergency landing at Sullom Voe that proved difficult. I will always wonder.




Sgt. Gilbert Joseph Orton 210 Squadron (d.22nd March 1943)

Gilbert Orton was the Son of Albert Henry and Germaine Orton, of Ward End, Birmingham. He was aged 21 when his Catalina crashed in the sea near Sagres. He is buried in the Sagres Cemetery in Portugal.

S flynn



Flt.Sgt. George Tod Wright Gibson 210 Sqquadron (d.22nd March 1943)

Flight Sergeant Gibson was the Son of Alexander and Margaret Gibson of Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. He was aged 23 when his Catalina aircraft crashed off Sagres. He is buried in the Sagres Cemetery in Portugal.

S flynn



F/O. Geoffrey Silva DFC. 210 Squadron (d.13th Jun 1943)

Geoffrey Silva is my father's cousin and I remember my dad telling me about him when I was growing up. My grandmother and his father were brother and sister.

Sue Grant



John Henry Evans 210 Squadron

Jack Evans served with No. 210 Squadron.




F/Lt. Wallace Arthur Robert Keddie 210 Squadron (d.16th May 1942)

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Wallace Keddie was one of three brothers who died during WW2. His brothers were John Maitland Keddie, RAF (VR) and Lieut Richard George Damyon Keddie, RN, D.S.C.




SAC. William Gill 210 Squadron

RAF Blida

Bill Gill was my father, he was Assigned to Coastal Command 210 Squadron, then off to 1PRU and 540 Squadron at Station Benson in the early days of Photo Reconnaissance. He was posted after 1PDC to 156 Maintenance Unit, Northwest Africa Aircraft Repair Unit as a Senior Aircraftsman. I was 14yrs when he passed in May 1969 and I am now tracing his WWII experiences. His War Record states he was a Commercial Photographer in Civilian Life, Glasgow, Scotland.

Kenneth J. Gill



Arthur Victor Cannings 210 Squadron

The piece I have is from my cousin Arthur Cannings: "At Sulloy Voe, Shetland Islands on the 25th of March 1944, Catalina JX210 of 210 Squadron, narrowly missed us in JX243 as it crashed beside a small croft, killing all on board.

In around 1985 I painted a watercolour of catalina FP131 and added an imaginary shetland background, including that croft. In June 2005 I attended a Squadron reunion at Stratford upon Avon, a lady named Mary was introduced, whose fiance, Bill Hurd was 2nd Pilot to F/Lt Keates. She was seeking information and was pleased to learn something of the crash. I later sent her my watercolour as an 80th Birthday present and received a full scale print in return. A remarkable fact that the small croft should prove significant after so long."

Peter Cannings



Flt.Sgt. William James Hall 210 Sqdn.

My father William James Hall served with 210 Squadron during the latter stages of World War Two. I know relatively little about his service, but I think he served on Catalinas.

Gavin Hall







Recomended Reading.

Available at discounted prices.









Links


    Suggest a link
















    The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items.

    The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.

    If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.



    Hosted by:

    The Wartime Memories Project Website

    is archived for preservation by the British Library





    Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
    - All Rights Reserved

    We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.