The Airmen's Stories - Sgt. E L Holmes

Eric Leonard Holmes of Ilford, Essex was born in January 1919. His father Frederick Tims Holmes, a paper merchant, was awarded a Mention in Dispatches as a 2/Lt. in the RAF in 1919. His mother was Rose Holmes (nee Alexander).

Eric Holmes joined the RAFVR in February 1937 as an Airman u/t Pilot. Called up on 1st September 1939, he completed his training and was serving with 248 Squadron by early July 1940. On 14th November he attacked a 2500 ton ship in a Norwegian fjord, scoring two direct hits.

On 16th December 1940 he was flying Blenheim T1997 from Dyce. He came in to land in bad weather conditions and with low visibility. On landing his port mainplane collided with a water tank belonging to a contractor (the aerodrome was being expanded). This caused the aircraft to swing to the left where it collided with a tarmac truck and caught fire. Holmes suffered burns to his left hand. The other crew members, Sgts. HH Edwards and LE Howett, were uninjured.

On 12th June 1941 Holmes was killed, as a Flight Sergeant with 248 Squadron.

Blenheim IV T2121 WR*J was shot down by a Me110 during an anti shipping patrol off Denmark.

Sgt. DE Richardson and Sgt. J Till were also lost.

Holmes was 25 and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, panel 36.

Above image courtesy of Dean Sumner.