Chadwick, S F (Stanley Frederick)

Chadwick, S F (Stanley Frederick)

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Flight Sergeant Stanley Frederick Chadwick served with the Royal Air Force, Coastal Command Development Unit. On the 30th of April 1942 he took off in a Bristol Beaufort,[1] AW271 from Ballykelly airfield. Onboard was the pilot, Flight Lieutenant R W G Holdsworth, 74352,[2] Flight Lieutenant A D Livingstone, 33514,[3] and the observer, Flight Sergeant Stanley Frederick Chadwick.

The mission for this flight was to carry out tests on a static line for dropping parachutists. Unfortunately, the test process did not go well and during the process, one of the parachutes became entangled on the tail of the torpedo bomber and the Beaufort lost control and plummeted towards the church which two of the crew are now buried in. The plane unfortunately collided with a tree just outside the church’s land and crashed into the grounds, bursting into flames on contact. There were no survivors.

The severely burnt bodies were recovered and two of them were laid to rest in this cemetery, Tamlaght Finlagan. The other who was   Flight Lieutenant Richard William Gilbert Holdsworth, his funeral service took place in University College Chapel, Oxford, on May 4th, 1942. He was buried in Wolvercote Cemetery.

Date of Death: 30/04/1942 (Aged 22)

Service: Flight Sergeant, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Coastal Command Development Unit.

Service Number: 916276

Burial Location: Plot W. Grave 15.


[1] The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engine torpedo bomber which went into service during 1939 after taking its first flight the year before. It would only remain in service until 1944, when it was retired.

[2] Flight Lieutenant Richard William Gilbert Holdsworth served in 502 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Service Number: 74352, aged 31 was the son of Sir William Searle Holdsworth, O.M., K.C.B. and of Lady Holdsworth (nee Wood) of Oxford; husband of Mary Holdsworth (nee Zvegintzov) (who he married during September 1940), of Oxford. M.A. (Oxon.). Stowell Civil Law Fellow and Dean, University College. He was laid to rest in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxfordshire, England, Section H.2. Grave 176.

[3] Flight Lieutenant Archibald Duncan Livingstone, Royal Air Force, Service Number 33514. He was laid to rest in this cemetery also.

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