John Rawsthorn Rainford

John Rawsthorn Rainford was a British bomber pilot, born around 1913–14 and raised at Bartle, near Preston in Lancashire; he was educated at St Peter’s School, York, from 1927 to 1930, and was the son of Thomas Clarkson Rainford and Ann Rainford and the husband of Beryl Thirza Rainford of Preston. Commissioned into the Royal Air Force, he rose to Squadron Leader and served with No. 83 Squadron, a heavy bomber unit that converted onto the troublesome twin-engined Avro Manchester late in 1941. A markedly decorated airman, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during 1941 and later a Bar to it, and his Distinguished Service Order was announced in the London Gazette (Issue 35454, page 710) on 10 February 1942. On the night of 22/23 February 1942 No. 83 Squadron mounted an operation against Stavanger in German-occupied Norway, and Rainford, flying Manchester L7522 (coded OL-N), was lost; he died on 22 February 1942 at the age of 28. He is buried in Sola Churchyard, Norway, where his headstone bears the inscription “They shall mount up with wings as eagles” (Isaiah XL.31).