Richard Lawrence "Invasion of Crete"

RICHARD SCOTT LAWRENCE

Flight Lieutenant Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 160 Squadron

Service Number: 83741

Died 28 October 1942, Age 24 years

He was initially buried at Galatas, Crete, Later, his remains were reinterred at Suda Bay War Cemetery in Greece, in a collective grave (7.B.16-17)

Son of Richard Sydney and Elsie Lawrence of Totteridge House, Totteridge Common, Totteridge and Saxlingham, Nethergate, Norfolk

Consolidated Liberator

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Richard Scott Lawrence served as a navigator with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve's No. 160 Squadron, which was formed in January 1942 as a heavy bomber and reconnaissance unit equipped with Consolidated Liberator aircraft.  After forming in England, the squadron was posted to the Middle East, where it conducted bombing operations against targets in Libya and Crete.

On the night of October 27-28, 1942, Flight Lieutenant Lawrence was part of an eight-man crew aboard Liberator II AL548 (code BS-R) on a bombing mission targeting Máleme Airfield in Crete. Máleme was a fuel station that supplied petrol to troops in North Africa. The aircraft took off at 19:18 hours from their base at Aqir in Palestine, along with nine other aircraft; however, two experienced engine problems and failed to join the mission.

The mission was particularly significant as Máleme Airfield had been a crucial location during the Battle of Crete in May 1941, when German paratroopers captured Crete in the first predominantly airborne invasion in military history.

Tragically, the bomber was shot down south of the target area. All crew members were killed in action.

Richard’s father owned a leather company in Edmonton. Following his son’s death, he created the Flight Lieutenant Richard Scott Lawrence charitable trust, using the trust's income to support technical education and research related to the leather industry in the United Kingdom.