450318 - Unaccounted Airmen - 18-03-1945

[Alex Smart]

Hello,

450318 - Unaccounted Airmen - 18-03-1945

From Henk's List -

ITALY
RIGBY, Thomas Edward - LAC - 1513379 - RAFVR - Bari War Cemetery, Italy.

UK
COOK, Cyril Ernest - LAC - 1644369 - RAFVR - Tottenham Cemetery, Middlesex.
DAVIDSON, Edward Anderson - Cpl - 1223093 - RAFVR - Worthing (Durrington) Cemetery, Sussex.

From CWGC & Geoff's sites -

Nil

Alex

[malcolm_raf]

Hi

ITALY
RIGBY, Thomas Edward - LAC - not in GRO Lists.

UK
COOK, Cyril Ernest - LAC - registered in Depwade.
DAVIDSON, Edward Anderson - Cpl - registered in Eastbourne.

Malcolm

[jonheyworth]

Cook died in an accident involving an aircraft turret

[wwrsimon]

Hello

A little more on COOK, Cyril Ernest - LAC - 1644369

The inquest into his death was reported in the Diss Express of March 25th 1945. It record that he was killed when an upper turret was being serviced by him and L.A.C. Sydney Charles Prestige. Prestige was in the turret, which was being lowered, and his hand became trapped by two cable conduits. The lowering of the turret seemingly pushed the cables into contact with the gun trigger and two rounds were accidentally fired, killing Cook. One of the witnesses testfied that rounds were sometimes left in the breech, and should have been cleared when the gun was uncocked. However the airman who had been in the process of doing so had been asked for help by another airman, and the guns had remained cocked.
A verdict of Death by misadventure was recorded, and the responsibility laid at the airman who was in the process of uncocking the guns but had been distracted. The Coroner noted that Prestige was not to blame.

Regards

Simon