244616 Flt.Sgt. Clifford James Gascoyne Royal Air Force 70 Squadron from:Harold Wood, Essex (d.30th January 1943) Clifford Gascoyne was my my mother's sister's fiance.
My first recollection of Cliff Gascoyne was that, at a very young age, my mother, Peggy Easter, made me aware of him. She told me that Cliff had been engaged to my mothers sister (my Auntie Vera - Vera Kathleen Walker) and had been killed during the 2nd World War. He had been one of the crew of 6 including the pilot Flt Lt B H McMichael in a Wellington bomber. The aircraft had taken off from Egypt on a mission to Catania in Italy
Auntie Vera had kept in contact with Cliff's parents James and Dorothy after the war and I recall that every time we passed their property by car on the A127 borders of Harold Wood and Gidea Park Essex Mum would mention them.
I decided to carry out some research into Cliff and his wartime record and the following information has come to light:
It is alleged that the German Ace Fighter pilot, Hptm Horst Patuschka, was responsible for shooting the aircraft down. He died two months later in an aircraft crash in Tunis.
Cliff was buried in a cemetery in El Alamein.
I found a reference book with a mention of Cliff and the plane being shot down. The Wellingtons reference number was 1C DV484 Q according to
"A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940-1945" by Christopher Shores, Giovanni Massimello.
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