Leonard George Mayhew

Leonard George Mayhew was a Flight Sergeant in the Royal Air Force, serving with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who held the service number 917811. While serving as a Sergeant he was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division), the grant being announced in the London Gazette of 10 August 1943 (Issue 36131, page 3629) in a list of airmen recognised for conspicuous service. He died on 9 November 1943 at the age of 24, and is buried in Farnborough Cemetery, Hampshire, in Section 6, Grave 11. The surviving records confirm his identity, rank, decoration, and the place and date of his death, but do not state the squadron he served with, the type of aircraft he flew, or the circumstances of his death; his burial in a home cemetery in England is consistent with a death within the United Kingdom rather than on operations overseas. (Note: although our internal record lists a DSO, the cited London Gazette notice and his award are in fact the British Empire Medal; the Distinguished Service Order on that same page was granted to a different airman.)