Connell, R D (Robert Desmond)
Connell
Leading Aircraftman Robert Desmond Connell was the son of Robert G. Connell and Margaret G. Connell, of Limavady. He had a brilliant academic career, achieving a degree with honours at Queen’s University a few years prior before moving on to become a solicitor by 1937 after serving an apprenticeship with his father. During 1940 he requested to join the R.A.F.[1] During January 1941 he was called up as a cadet and had been training since. He belonged to N.5 Air Observers School, N.25 Group Training Command, stationed at RAF Jurby on the Isle of Man.
During the morning of the 31st of October, four men were on a cross-country navigational training exercise in a Bristol Blenheim light bomber.[2] They were Sergeant William Amos Scott Doig,[3] who was the Pilot, Leading Aircraftman Peter Ernest Coles,[4] Leading Aircraftman Ivor John Urwin,[5] and this airman, Leading Aircraftman Robert Desmond Connell.
At around 12:30pm their plane developed engine trouble and the pilot lost control. It crashed into the slopes of “Big Collin” Mountain in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland. All onboard lost their lives. Their bodies were recovered and returned to their families for burial.
Robert’s funeral was a large affair, with a large local turnout. He did not have a military funeral, instead local boy scouts carried his coffin to its final resting place. His body was lowered into a grave lined with flowers. In attendance was his cousin Archibald Norman Campbell who was training to be a doctor. Later in the war he would also join the RAF and a few years later he would be killed in similar circumstances. He is also buried in this cemetery and his story is before this.
Date of Death: 31/10/1941 (Aged 25)
Service: Leading Aircraftman (U/T Observer), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Service Number: 1074966
Burial Location: Grave 134.
[1] R.A.F. is the Royal Air Force.
[2] The bombers serial number was Z6273.
[3] Sergeant William Amos Scott Doig (Service Number 993229), aged 25, remembered at Dundee Crematorium, Scotland.
[4] Leading Aircraftman Peter Ernest Coles (Service Number 1389953), aged 24, buried in Killead Church of Ireland churchyard, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
[5] Leading Aircraftman Ivor John Urwin. (Service Number 1087876), buried in Heighington churchyard, County Durham, England.
