Richard Leslie William Cheek
Flight Lieutenant · 131080 · United Kingdom
- Died
- 30 May 1944, aged 27
- Fate
- Killed in action
Biography
Not known
Burial / commemoration
- Cemetery
- Bari War Cemetery, Italy
Operations on this date. 2 raids in this archive were flown on the night of 30 May 1944: Hannover · Boulogne. (Cross-reference by date — not in itself confirmation this airman flew it.)
Timeline
-
19 November 1943
Gazetted: DSO
Distinguished Service Order -
30 May 1944
Died
aged 27
Awards
-
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) — gazetted 19 November 1943
One night in October, 1943, this officer executed a most determined and highly successful attack on an enemy airfield near Rome. Flying Officer Cheek made several runs over the target, releasing his bombs to good effect. Several of them burst in front of the hangars and a large aircraft was set on fire. He afterwards came down to almost ground level to sweep the objective with a hail of bullets. As a result, 6 aircraft were set on fire, 3 of which exploded. The following night, Flying Officer Cheek attacked another airfield in the same area. In spite of opposition from the ground defences, he executed resolute bombing attacks and afterwards machine-gunned the airfield from a low level. On ot.
Source: CWGC casualty record: CHEEK, RICHARD LESLIE WILLIAM → · Commonwealth War Graves Commission