ST. LUCY BORN. GREY DOYLE CUMBERBATCH. WE WERE THERE. Grey Doyle Cumberbatch 1921-1943 Greystone Doyle Cumberbatch was born on 2 June 1921 in Grapehall, St Lucy, Barbados. He was the only son of Charles Wilkinson Cumberbatch and Octavia Cecily Clementina née Leacock. Cumberbatch, known as ‘Grey’, graduated from the prestigious Harrison College in St Michael, Barbados. Cumberbatch volunteered for WWII service and joined the RAF as one of the twelve “Barbados Second Contingent”. Cumberbatch was killed on Thursday 5 March 1943 when his Lancaster bomber crashed whilst attempting to land at an airfield in England during World War II. Cumberbatch and several members of his contingent left Waltham, Lincolnshire on 4 March in a Lancaster bomber for a mine-laying operation over St Nazaire. This was the first mission by 100 Squadron after they had received their Lancasters in March 1943. The plane returned on 5 March 1943 at just past 3am in the morning. Visibility was poor and the aircraft’s port inner engine was failing. Furthermore, the pilot was unable to communicate with the ground staff at Waltham. The pilot’s attempt to land was unsuccessful, and the aircraft came down in Plungar, Nottingham. All but one of the crew were killed in the crash. Among the twelve men selected for the Barbados Second Contingent, depicted on a recent Barbados stamp, one was Errol W. Barrow. After the War, he entered politics and eventually become Barbados’ first Prime Minister. BARBADOS SECOND CONTINGENT. Back row: C.P. King, J.S. Partridge, A.A. Walrond, J.L.L. Yearwood, M.R. Cuke, E.W. Barrow – Front row: G.D. Cumberbatch, A.P.C. Dunlop, H.E.S. Worme, G.A. Barrow, A.O. Weekes, B.F.H. Miller.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 01:40:31 +0000
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