Flying Officer Francis Swan Renton

Flying Officer Air Gunner Francis Swan Renton, 550 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was lost on operations over Germany on 5th January 1945 and is buried in Hanover War Cemetery, Germany. 550 Squadron was based at R.A.F. Killingholme. Lincolnshire and flew the Avro Lancaster.  The Squadron was part of 1 Group Bomber Command and during the Bomber Offensive it flew 3,582 Sorties on 192 separate raids losing 59 Aircraft in the process. He had originally joined the R.A.F. as a policeman and served in the Middle East where he was wounded in the back. He returned to the U.K. and was transferred to aircrew as a gunner where he was eventually commissioned as a Flying Officer. He was killed on his 21st mission. An excellent account of the last mission can be found in ” Second To None” the excellent book on a history of Coldstream and surrounding villages.