Ronald Alexander John Anderson

Ronald Alexander John Anderson was killed in action over German on July 20th 1940. He was 26 years old.

Ronald was the wireless operator/rear gunner in a crew of six on a Wellington Bomber. They were part of the 75th (NZ) Squadron - the squad that saw the most action and the most casualties during the conflict.

There is a possibility this crew was one of the many who assisted with the protection of the Allied troops during the evacuation at Dunkirk.

The crew were on a mission to Horst Gelsenkirchen, an oil plant in the Rhur region of Germany.

The plane was shot down by a German Ace Pilot at 2:23am 7km NW of Borken Germany.

The Pilot who shot them down was Oblt Siegried Wandam with fwdb Alfred Scokpe.

It should be noted that these two crashed upon landing after a mission on July 4th 1943 and were killed.

The fighter plane that shot the Wellington down was a Messerschmitt BF 110 of the Nachjagdgeschwader Night Fighter Wing of the Luftwaffe.

There is some speculation as to whether or not the plane was shot down by Major Walter Ehle, though there are no records to prove this

As far as we know Ronald is buried with the rest of his crew at the Riechswald Forest War Cemetary in Kleve Germany.

The location of the grave is: 21F coll. grave 1

His "Find a Grave" Memorial Number is 12487096

There is evidence however of another grave site in Holland, though we have no record of that at this time.