Riley, Norman Geoffrey
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Norman Geoffrey |
Surname | Riley |
Gender | M |
Age | 24 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 08-01-1945 |
Next of Kin | Son of John Henry and Emily Jane Riley, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Husband of May Riley, of Vancouver. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Airspeed Oxford I |
Serial Number | LW903 |
Markings |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Sec. H. Row E. Grave 13. |
Epitaph | HIS MEMORY IS AS DEAR TODAY AS IN THE HOUR HE PASSED AWAY |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 232 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/26110 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 1 |
Squadron | 1546 Flt |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 08-01-1945 |
End Date | 08-01-1945 |
Takeoff Station | Faldingworth |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Transit to Montrose of another Oxford due to transfer of aircraft to a different unit. Oxford LW903 flew along to provide the return trip |
Reason for Loss | Both aircraft landed at Middleton St. George to drop off a passenger and to refuel. The weather was poor with frequent snow showers so both aircraft instead delivered the aircraft to Kinnel, a satellite station for Montrose. LW903 then began the return trip via RNAS Crail where they had already planned to stop over for the night with F/O Riley on board as a passenger . The worsening weather initially caused the morning's return flight to Faldingworth to be delayed. Eventually got clearance to fly at just after noon but nothing further was heard from the aircraft. The wreckage was not found until 6 days after the crash, having come down on high ground at Urra Moor in the North York Moors. It is though the aircraft iced up either on the control surfaces or in the carburettors. |