Inscription
IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF
JOHN VICTOR WADHAM
SERGT PILOT, R.A.F.V.R.
WHO GAVE HIS LIFE IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
OCTOBER 12TH 1940
AGED 21 YEARS
"PER ARDUA AD ASTRA"
Further Information
CWGC record ...
Son of Victor Sidney and Lilian Olive Wadham, of Newport.
John Wadham was educated at Ryde School on the Isle of Wight, and then went to the
Grammar School at Newport. He had begun an apprenticeship
with the furnishing firm of Shepperd and Hedgers in Southampton but also joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve prior to the outbreak of war.
He joined 601 Sqn at RAF Tangmere on 3rd August 1940. Flying Hawker Hurricane V7426, he was involved in a dogfight with an Me109S
over Hastings on the morning of 12th October 1940 and was shot down and killed. The aircraft crashed at Courseham Farm near Cranbrook.
Sgt Pilot Wadham was killed while serving with 145 Sqn, and his body was taken to Newport for burial.
Information provided by : John Bloodworth
