William Joseph Cronin

William Joseph Cronin was a Sergeant, service number 365686, and an observer with No. 53 Squadron. CWGC records his death on 15 May 1940, aged 25, and his burial at Templeuve Communal Cemetery, Tournai. The London Gazette records his Distinguished Flying Medal on 8 March 1940, and RAFCommands links that award to the same service number and squadron.

Martin’s Aviation Pages supplies the strongest checked loss account. It identifies Cronin as observer in Blenheim IV L9399, flying a photographic reconnaissance sortie over the river Escaut/Scheldt area near the Franco-Belgian border. The aircraft was shot down in error by Flight Lieutenant John Samuel Owen of No. 504 Squadron and crashed near Froyennes railway station. Pilot Officer Peter Knowles Bone and Cronin were killed, while LAC Jack Bromley was missing. The same page records that Bone and Cronin were buried at Templeuve on 16 May 1940. Those details are used because the page names Cronin with service number 365686.