The Airmen's Stories - P/O R L Patterson

Robert Lawson Patterson, of Wormit, Fife was born on 23rd October 1913, the only child of John Muirhead and Helen Smith Patterson.

He was educated at Dundee High School. He then obtained a Diploma of Commerce from Dundee School of Economics.

Above: the High School of Dundee were able to use the above captioned cricket team (1932/33) photograph to identify Patterson (rear row, third from right) from an uncaptioned shot of the rugby team below.

Patterson joined the RAFVR about September 1937 as an Airman u/t Pilot. Called up on 1st September 1939, he completed his training, was commissioned and joined 235 Squadron in early 1940.

On 5th February 1940 he was detached to RAF Uxbridge for an R/T and Fighter Tactics course and from 13th May to 25th May 1940 Patterson was attached to the Blind Approach Training and Development Unit at Boscombe Down on No. 18 course.

He was captain of Blenheim N3541 which failed to return from a convoy patrol off East Anglia on 18th July 1940. He and his crew of two, Sgt. LHM Reece, observer and Sgt. RY Tucker, gunner were reported 'Missing'.

Patterson was 26. His name is on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 9.

Above image from Runnymede courtesy of Dean Sumner.

He is also commemorated on the school war memorial (below) along with Battle veteran P/O WB Pattullo.

He is also commemorated on his parents' headstone at Vicarsford Cemetery, Forgan, Fife (below).

The High School of Dundee also advised that Patterson is named on the war memorial at Newport-on-Tay, their documentation holds a photo (below).