| Admitted to: Roe Valley Hospital. RAF Hospital Halton (27/05/41) |
Date of Injury: 27/04/1941 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| D.O.B/Age when admitted: 19/12/1919 (21) |
Cause of Incident: Crashed. Flying incident. |
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| Transferred to QVH: 20/10/1941 |
Injuries: Burns to face,hands and legs. |
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| No. of Operations at East Grinstead: 7 |
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: Desmond Anthony |
Surname: O'Connell |
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| Service No: 754811 |
Nationality: British. |
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| Awards/Honours: --- |
Patient Unit: 502 Sqn |
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| Profession: Observer |
Patient Rank: Sgt |
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| Death: --- |
Age at Death: --- |
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| Dr Rank: |
Dr Unit: |
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O'Connell joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1938 at 19. He was assigned as an observer to 502 Sqn Coastal Command, RAF Limavady, Northern Ireland.
On 27 April 1941, O'Connell and his crew members were given the task of locating and sinking the Bismarck. Their Whitley was overloaded with an extra person, fuel and bombs, and the extra weight meant that it was unable to clear the mountains by the base, resulting in a crash. O'Connell crawled from the wreckage with a head injury, but the fuel soaking his uniform caught fire as he escaped.
The crew walked three miles to a farmhouse where they were able to phone an ambulance. O'Connell was treated at Roe Valley Cottage Hospital in Limavady, before being transferred to RAF Hospital Halton, where he was chosen by McIndoe for treatment at QVH.
We've been looking through our collections, and discovered this 1972 photograph from the East Grinstead Observer, o…