Harry Thomas James Anderson

Harry Thomas James Anderson (service number 39021) was a pre-war regular officer of the Royal Air Force who held a short service commission from the mid-1930s, serving with No. 23 Squadron at RAF Northolt from 1937; he briefly relinquished his commission in 1938 but was recalled to service in September 1939 as war approached. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, gazetted on 1 March 1940 (London Gazette, Issue 34803, page 1245), recognising his service before the Battle of France. By May 1940 he was a Flight Lieutenant commanding “B” Flight of No. 253 Squadron, which flew Hawker Hurricanes, and his flight was detached to France in mid-May 1940 to operate from the Lille area as the German offensive in the West unfolded. He was killed on 19 May 1940 during the intense fighting over northern France. Flight Lieutenant Anderson is buried in Lille Southern Cemetery, France (Plot 5, Row A, Grave 13), where he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.