Arthur John Hodgkinson

Arthur John Hodgkinson was born on 31 August 1915 in Calcutta, India. He entered the Royal Air Force in January 1932 as an aircraft apprentice, qualifying as a fitter of aero-engines before earning pilot training and a path to flying duties. By 1940 he was a sergeant pilot, and went on to make his name as a night-fighter pilot. Flying with No. 219 Squadron, and later No. 264 Squadron, he claimed a string of victories in the dark against German raiders such as Dornier Do 17s, Heinkel He 111s and Junkers Ju 88s. His skill brought a Distinguished Flying Cross, gazetted in April 1941, with a Bar following in June. Commissioned in early 1941, he was posted to the Mediterranean in 1943, joining No. 23 Squadron at Malta to fly Mosquito intruder sorties. He was killed on 10 July 1943 during an operation over Italy and lies in Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio. A Distinguished Service Order was gazetted posthumously.