Roll of Honour 2023

P AGE 151

W ORLD W AR II

S T . E DWARD ’ S S CHOOL , O XFORD R OLL OF H ONOUR

Name ALEC PANTON CRANSWICK (Sqd Leader)

Roll Number 2846 Died 05:07:1944

Lef SES 1936

Set / House G

Arrive SES 1933

Where OVER VILLECRESNES, FRANCE Serving with 35TH PATHFINDERS, R.A.F.

Age 25

Buried Clichy New Communal Cemetery Remembered The. St. Edward’s School WW2 Memorial

Born Oxford 1919, son of a deceased RAF Officer. He entered SES as a Day Boy, and was always a strong supporter of their rights. ‘He entered whole-heartedly into School activities. He was always happy and always on the go. He left the School rather young but his outstanding qualities were soon recognised’ (Chronicle). When he left he was in the Vth(d) Form. In 1937 he joined the Metropolitan Police but a year later transferred to the RAF. By 1938 he was an Acting Pilot Officer and 1940 a Petty Officer. A year later he joined the Pathfinders and 148 Squadron (Bomber Command). In this role he was regularly flying Wellingtons, Lancasters and Halifax aircraft, leading the attack and marking the targets for the following bomber forces. He flew an incredible 147 operations between 1941-4 winning the DSO and DFC for his outstanding bravery and skill. He was eventually shot down in July 1944 over Villecresnes in France, by a Night Fighter from No. 6 Staffel in No 2. Nachtjagdgeschwader: There was only one survivor, the Wireless Operator. Cranswick and the rest of the crew were buried with full military honours by the Germans, then re-buried after the war. His exploits were not nationally known until after the war, when the true value of his selfless courage and expertise in laying flares on Prime enemy targets became better appreciated and acknowledged in a book of his life.