Identity
Person No.
9031
Service No.
778193
Last Name
First Name
Kenneth Esler
Initials
K E
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
31
Military Service
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause of Death
Killed in action, Hampden Mk.I. AD868, lost over sea off French coast. He and his crew never returned from a bombing mission over Brest which was sent to try and destroy the German battleship, the Scharnhorst
Grave Reference
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Coordinates
Additional Information
Notes
Son of Gordon Esler Hall and Helena Hall; husband of Joan Hall, of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. Ken was educated at Grey High School in Port Elizabeth and was a noted runner - he was South African half mile champion and represented South Africa at that distance in the USA in the 1930's. He worked for the Mobil Oil Company in Cape Town and was transferred to Rhodesian as a relief but stayed on. He was with RAF 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron and was in the last Hampden that was 'lost' before the squadron was equipped with the Lancaster bomber. There is an Unknown Airman found 22 December 1941 buried in CAMARET-SUR-MER COMMUNAL CEMETERY, same cemetery as Kaschula who was on same flight. There is a 1 in 3 chance this is Hall.
Citation
Unknown
External Source
Unknown
South African War Graves Project