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Those known to have fought in Battle of Britain during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Assheton DFC.. William Radcliffe. F/Lt.
- Banasik KW & Bar.. Bonifacy. WO. (d.2002)
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
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
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- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
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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. |
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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.
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about Battle of Britain? There are:165 items tagged Battle of Britain 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. |
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F/Lt. William Radcliffe Assheton DFC. 222 Squadron  William Assheton was born on 12th December 1917 in Kent and attended Sherborne School in Dorset. He went on to study Electrical Engineering at Jesus College, Cambridge but before completing his degree he joined the RAF on a short service commission in early 1939.
He was posted to 222 Squadron at Duxford in early November.
In August 1940 the squadron was at Hornchurch when the Battle of Britain began. On the 30th Assheton crash-landed at Bekesbourne Aerodrome in Spitfire R6720 after combat over Canterbury.
On 11th September he made a forced-landing on Parsonage Farm, Fletching, in Spitfire R6638, after an action over the Maidstone area
Assheton's third escape came on 20th September when he baled out with slight burns, after being shot down in a surprise attack by Me109's over the Thames Estuary. He landed at Latchington and was admitted to St. Peter's Hospital, Maldon. His Spitfire, K9993, crashed and burned out at Linkhouse Farm, West Hanningfield.
In 1945 Assheton was awarded the DFC (gazetted 10th April 1945) for service with 540 Squadron, a Mosquito photographic-reconnaissance unit.
He remained in the RAF after the war, graduated from the RAF Staff College and retired on 22nd November 1957 as a Squadron Leader.
He then moved to Spain where he died in November 2009.
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WO. Bonifacy "Bonek" Banasik KW & Bar. 301 Squadron (d.2002) Bonifacy Banasik was my father-in-law. He was born in Czestochowa, Poland in 1912. He lost his father in 1918 or 1919. There is no clear record of his father's death except that his dad went off to war and was killed, grave site unknown. He graduated from his hometown schools and then attended Mechanical School in Warsaw. From 1932 to 34 he served in the 3rd Air Regiment, Polish Air Force and then remained in the Polish Air Force Reserves until 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland.
At that time, he was reported to have destroyed a Nazi plane and went into hiding. The Nazis captured and tortured his mother but finally released her after she signed a document saying she did not know his whereabouts and would report him immediately if he returned to her. Otherwise, she herself and the rest of by the family would be killed. Bonek, as he was called, fled into Russia, was captured by the Russians and sent to a Siberian Concentration POW camp in the Ussa River area, from which he managed to escape. He eventually found his way to England in 1942 and served in the Polish 301 (Pomerania) Squadron of the RAF. There he met my English mother-in-law who served in NAFFI and they married in 1944. She related stories to me of how he would go on bombing missions and she feared never seeing him again. She said he served in and we recently saw his photo posted on another site while in Brindisi. After the war, he brought his family to the US in 1954 where he worked as a design engineer. He passed away in 2002.
Dad rarely spoke of his war days and we never knew of his Cross of Valor award with Bar or his title of Defenders of Warsaw until a few months before he died. He never saw his mother again. (She died in 1955). He returned to Poland only once in 1974, still fearing reprisal. After his return he stopped all contact with his family. They found us on Fb in 2016 and we were reunited last year in Poland.
I am writing this to share his story and honour his memory.
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