In the earliest days of the Pathfinders, the PFF had a Staff Officer contingent of only five, of whom William Anderson was one. Another was Robert Murray Buchan, the Navigation Staff Officer. Sadly, Buchan went missing on 25 August with an 83 Squadron crew, a mere ten days after the PFF was formed. The crew was that
Further to our post yesterday on Bill Anderson’s Logbook and the first PFF sortie, we have since learned that “Jacko” was William Grierson Jackson, RCAF, who was a close friend of Bill Anderson. Jackson, who served at PFF NTU, was a pretty amazing character. Anderson describes him affectionately in his memoirs Pathfinders. We have updated
William Anderson was one of the handful of Staff Officers at PFF HQ who was in at the very beginning. Anderson was an outstanding navigator, and there is much more come about him; however, in this month which celebrates the 80th Anniversary of the formation of the Pathfinders, we simply could not resist this absolutely
To all our friends, supporters, and generous donors over the years – We celebrate the formation of the Path Finder Force on 15 August 1942 and remember with great gratitude what they did for us. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.
During his time commanding the Path Finder Force, Donald Bennett only sent two direct personal message to the men, women, squadrons and stations under his command. The first was 0n 22 August 1943, one year after the Path Finder Force was formed; it was a slightly belated First Anniversary message. The second was on VE
Amongst the Pathfinders’ early losses was Leslie Barr of 7 Squadron. Other losses in the early days included the Savage crew of 156 Squadron, who were shot down on a Kassel operation on 27/28 August 1942. They are buried at Reichswald Forest Cemetery. See this page: PFF Losses First Month, 1942 We are seeking further
