Warrant Officer Rex Sutton, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was a long-served Navigator who completed an early tour of operations in Wellingtons of No. 115 Squadron in 1940, his pilot, who had a tendency to remain over the target for up to three quarters of an hour to ensure accurate bombing, was awarded the D.F.M.
Rex Sutton was born in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire in September 1915, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve shortly before the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939. Having then qualified for his Air Observer's Brevet in February 1940, he commenced his operational career that July, when he was posted to No. 115 Squadron, a Wellington unit operating out of R.A.F. Marham.
Thus ensued a busy tour of operations, as a member of Pilot Officer Kirby's crew, commencing with strikes against the oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen on the 14th and the aerodrome at Diepholz on the 18th. July witnessed him participating in attacks on the railway junction at Soest, the oil refinery at Hamburg, and the chemical works at Monheim in July, while in August he was assigned to strikes against the docks at Hamburg, the aerodrome at the aptly named Bomblitz, the aircraft works at Gotha, the oil refinery at Bordeaux and the aircraft factory at Bernberg.
An attack against the gas works at Berlin having followed in August, Sutton was next present in sorties against the marshalling yards at Hamm and barges at Calais, the latter part of the Hitler's envisaged Operation Sealion. September also saw Sutton participating in three strikes against the docks at Le Havre and, more notably, another on the Air Ministry in Berlin. Having then completed three more sorties with Kirby, attacks against Calais, Cologne and Kiel in early October, Sutton moved to Sergeant P. S. Marriott's crew, the pilot was awarded the D.F.M. in March 1941, the recommendation citing that he sometimes remained over his target for three quarters of an hour in order to ensure the accurate bombing.
Thus such targets may have included the aluminum works at Grevenbroich and the hydrogenation plant at Gelsenkirchen, attacked on the 20th and 27th of the same month; or, more likely, the docks at Antwerp and Bremerhaven, and the Krupps works at Essen, all attacked over the coming weeks, so, too, in November, the docks at Hamburg and Flushing, Schipol aerodrome and the railway yards at Cologne. On the latter occasion, as described in an accompanying newspaper cutting, H.M. the King attended 115 Squadron's crew briefing, 'watched the pilots take off, saw them return, and assisted in the cross-examination of the pilots on their operations against the enemy.'
Rex ended his tour in December with a strike against the Royal Arsenal at Turin, was thereafter employed as an instructor, but he saw further action in May and June 1942 when, in common with other O.T.U. personnel, he was called upon to contribute to the famous 1,000 bomber raids on Cologne and Essen, though on the latter occasion his aircraft was recalled to base. He was demobilised in October 1945.
