Trafford

Attended St. Mary's School, Sale High School and won a place at Manchester
Grammar School, but opted instead for a place at the new Sale Grammar
School that opened in 1938.  Cricket was his main sport.   A member of the
ATC since he was 14 years old and joined the RAF when he was just 18 years
old and became a flight engineer.   Died aged 19 years 7 months.

Flying with 195 Sqn, they took off at 1706hrs from R.A.F. Wratting Common,
Cambridgeshire, in a Lancaster Mk.I, No. NG186 A4-O on a bombing operation
over Dessau.    Probably shot down by a German night fighter, they are
believed to have crashed near the small town of Büttstadt, E of the main
highway between Kölleda and Weimar.

The entire crew of 7 died, though one survived until 15th March, until he
eventually died of his wounds & pneumonia (Original version of events). 
They are all buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 Cem.

The 30/11/1945; 28/12/1945 & the 08/03/1946 editions of the local newspaper
report that his aircraft was indeed shot down and all seven of the crew
managed to bail out near Büttstadt, Saxony.  Sgt Robinson, in company with
the Pilot - Flight Lt. Peter Scott from Shepherds Bush, London, was taken
prisoner by the Volksturrm.  They were taken about 8 miles away to
Hermansdorf where, together with the other crewmen, they were shot "trying
to escape".   Another report states that they were taken to the Police
Station at Büttstadt and afterwards shot.  The wounded officer, originally
reported as having died of his wounds was also eventually shot.

At the end of hostilities, the War Crimes Tribunal were investigating the
atrocity.

The names of all the crew were listed in the local newspaper - the others
were:- F/O Thomas Draper, from Ontario, Canada; W/Op R.S. Howe, from
Castleside; F/O R. Appleyard from West Hartlepool; Sgt K. Woodburn, from
Ambleside and Sgt D.H. Sheppard from Figheldean.