- Died
- 16 September 1943, aged 23
- Fate
- Killed in action
Biography
Ralf Athelsie Pole Allsebrook was a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve pilot who flew with No. 49 Squadron before joining No. 617 Squadron. The 49 Squadron Association records that he completed fifty operations with the squadron and was awarded both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. One earlier episode, in February 1942, shows the sort of airmanship behind that reputation: returning from Bremen in Hampden AE397 on one engine, he was forced to ditch off the Isle of Wight after the second engine failed, with the crew surviving.
Allsebrook later moved to 617 Squadron after the Dams Raid period, when the squadron was being used for specialised low-level precision attacks. He was killed on 16/17 September 1943 during the canal raid against Ladbergen, flying Lancaster EE130. He is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Local memorial records also name him at Allithwaite, preserving the Cumbrian connection behind a highly experienced bomber pilot.
Burial / commemoration
- Cemetery
- Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Operations on this date. 2 raids in this archive were flown on the night of 16 September 1943: Operation Garlic · Modane. (Cross-reference by date — not in itself confirmation this airman flew it.)
Timeline
-
6 July 1943
Gazetted: DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross -
15 September 1943
Flew Operation Garlic
Pilot, EE130 — Failed to return -
16 September 1943
Died
aged 23
Crew & operations
Flew as Pilot with No. 617 Squadron (Dambusters).
- Operation Garlic (15 September 1943) — aircraft EE130 (Avro Lancaster) — Failed to return
Crew: Reginald Bertram Sidney Lulham (Bomb aimer) · Phillip Moore (Flight engineer) · William Walker (Front gunner) · Ivor Glyn Jones (Mid-upper gunner) · Norman Arthur Botting (Navigator) · Samuel Hitchen (Rear gunner) · Jacob Maurice Grant (Wireless operator)
Awards
-
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) — gazetted 6 July 1943