• Operation Chastise (Dambusters Raid)

Date of birth:

January 19th, 1920 ( Derry city, Ireland)

Date of death:

May 17th, 1943 (Borken, Germany)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Cemetery Reichswald Forest
Plot: 21. Row: E. Grave: 1.

Service number:

1211045

Nationality:

British

Richard Bolitho was born on 19 January 1920 in Derry, Ireland, to William Bolitho, a seed business traveler from Cornwall, and Jane Cuthbertson, a land steward's daughter. An only child, Richard moved to England in 1927, first to Roose in Cumberland and later to Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, where he lived with his aunt Emily. After attending Church Hill School, he earned a scholarship to Heanor Secondary School (later Heanor Grammar School) in 1931.

He joined the RAF in 1940, beginning aircrew training in early 1942. Initially posted to 9 Squadron, Bolitho was reassigned to 57 Squadron under pilot Bill Astell after Stephenson’s death. Their first mission was on 13 February 1943, and they later transferred to the newly formed 617 Squadron.

On 17 May 1943, their Lancaster crashed near Marbeck, Germany. Bolitho and his crew were initially buried in Borken and reinterred post-war in the Reichswald Forest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

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• Photo 1: Findagrave
• - CWGC
  - Dambusters

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