Jack Skingley & the Edwards crew
On November 16, 2023 by RAF Pathfinders ArchiveThe Edwards crew went missing on the Courtrai operation of 20/21 July 1944. No trace of them was ever found, and they are commemorated on the Runnymede memorial.
The bomb aimer on the crew was Jack Skingley. He was married with two children. His daughter, Jackie Maude, recently gave the manuscript of her father’s poem OUR HEROES to the Archive. The story of Jack and his poem can be read on this page: JACK SKINGLEY AND HIS POEM. A brief account of the crew can be found on this page: THE EDWARDS CREW, 97 SQUADRON.
97 Squadron had moved to Coningsby and 5 Group by the time that the Edwards crew was lost in July 1944. However, earlier that year Jack had been with 97 Squadron, Path Finder Force, at RAF Station Bourn, flying with the Benton crew.
As was customary for Pathfinders allocated to 5 Group, AOC Donald Bennett signed the Pathfinder certificate awarded after Jack’s death.
Featured photograph: Jack in London, prior to April 1941 when he enlisted.
