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Alex Shankland
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Alex Shankland

November 23, 2016
Admitted to:

RAF Hospital Halton

 Date of Injury:

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D.O.B/Age when admitted:

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 Cause of Incident:

Crashed on take off in a Wellington on a training sortie.
Transferred to QVH:

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 Injuries:

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No. of Operations at East Grinstead:

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IDENTITY CARD

This is to certify that the patient mentioned below and whose description is stated hereon is the authorised holder of this Identity card.

Forename:

Alex

 Surname:

Shankland
Service No:

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 Nationality:

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Awards/Honours:

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 Patient Unit:

OTU
Profession:

Bomb Aimer

 Patient Rank:

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Death:

September 2008

 Age at Death:

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Dr Rank:

Dr Unit:

Notes:

Shankland enlisted in 1941 and was sent to South Africa to train as an Observer. He ended up flying in Stirling bombers out of Chedburgh, Suffolk as a Radio/Navigator/Bomb Aimer in 214 Sqn. He completed a tour of operations with a couple of near misses, before becoming an instructor with various Operational Training Units. On one of these trips, both engines on his Wellington failed and they crashed into a forest. He initially received treatment at RAF Halton Hospital before being transferred to QVH.

Glossary:

OTU - Operational Training Unit

Further Reading:

References:

'How I Became a Guinea Pig', Alex Shankland, The Guinea Pig, July 2003, p. 8.