Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Charles Anthony Weymouth

Charles Anthony Weymouth was born in Kingsbridge on January 1st, 1914 to Anthony Weymouth and Blanche (nee Pedrick) Charles had three siblings, elder sister Dulcie and younger twins William and Blanche.

Charles’s mother Blanche died in 1918 and 2 years later Anthony married Linda Husband with whom he had another 4 children, three daughters and 1 son. Charles lived at the family farm in East Prawle until 1941 when he enlisted in the RAF. By late 1942 having gained the rank of Sergeant, Charles was serving with 44 Squadron, Bomber Command, stationed at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

In 1942 Bomber Command strategy was heavy night-time bombing in the industrial heartland of German cities.

On the night of 23rd November 1942 his Lancaster Bomber W 4304 flew from RAF Waddington towards its target in the German city of Stuttgart. The flight log at Waddington on that night records that three of its bombers “failed to return”. The crew of W4304 was comprised of 3 members of the Commonwealth, plus 2 from London and 1 from Suffolk along with Charles Anthony Weymouth.

All were killed.

Probate records indicate that at the time of Charles’s death in 1942, his father Anthony and family had moved from East Prawle and were resident at Glebe Farm in Widecombe where they farmed.

Because Charles’s family were established in Widecombe his name appears on the War Memorial in St Pancras Church although he never actually lived in the village. Like his fellow crew members, Charles Anthony Weymouth is commemorated on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede.