Epilogue
Whilst undertaking family research, I discovered a second cousin who was a fighter pilot in WWII, furthermore he had participated in the famous "Battle of Britain",
therefore one of the FEW that Winston Churchill had said of "We owed so much to".
After almost a year of combat duties he had given the ultimate sacrifice, his life, for his country.
As a young man of twenty he must have had so much to look forward to and being engaged to be married his thoughts would have been to their future life together after the war.
As I began my research I could not pinpoint the right person I suspected that it was Cecil Reginald Young but could not confirm this as at sometime point during the war, I suspect after 1942 and the fall of Singapore,
the Davidson and Young families lost contact with each other. No documents, even Cecil's death certificate, recorded his parent's names.
It was through the Battle of Britain site Forum that I made contact with Charlie Young, Cecil's great nephew and he confirmed that I had the right person. Working together we have gathered the information shown in this website.
Furthermore after some 65 years both families are now back in contact with each other.
I started my research with great anticipation but it was soon to be dashed - Pilot officer Cecil Reginald [Charlie] Young 42372, did not have a lot was written about him, some snippets and what there was, in some instances, was inaccurate including the crash site.
Even the CWGC site did not list his parents making it hard for anyone undertaking research on him. Hopefully this website will correct this.
In March 2007, In a massive Milestone the Young family received 4 awards entitled to Cecil nearly 67 years after his death. The are as follows:
The 1939 - 45 Star
The Battle of Britain Clasp
The Aircrew Europe Star
The War Medal
They will be worn with honour.
His record To-date
| Date | Sqn | Aircraft | Action | Where | Time | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Jun | 615 | Bf 109 | Unconfirmed | Merville | 11.45 | 1 |
| 14 Aug | 615 | Do 17 | Damaged (shared) | Dungeness | 18.30 | 1 |
| 16 Aug | 615 | He 111 | Destroyed | Brighton | 17.10 | 1 |
| 16 Aug | 615 | He 111 | Damaged | Brighton | 17.10 | 1 |
| 18 Aug | 615 | Do 215 | Destroyed | Kenley | 13.45 | 1 |
| 18 Aug | 615 | Bf 109 | Destroyed (probably) | Kenley | 13.45 | 1 |
| 20 Aug | 615 | Do 215 | Destroyed | Herne Bay | 15.00 | 1 |
| 01 Oct | 607 | Bf 110 | Damaged | W. Needles | 10.45 | 1 |
| 01 Nov | 46 | Z 1007 | Damaged | Dover | 16.30 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | |||||
We have still some research to do and over the next couple of years we are hoping to fill in some of the gaps.
We are also trying to locate his crashsite and with the help of some very experienced aircraft archeologists
we may be able to carry out excavation and to place a permanent marker.
Beryl Pockett
F/O Gordon Green and Mrs (F/O) Beryl Green at Buckingham Palace 1942
As previously stated Beryl Pocket married Flying Officer Gordon Green in 1942. They had a daughter and it is with her assistance and approval that we have included Beryl in this story. Both Beryl and her husband's own accounts of WWII makes fascinating reading.
Acknowledgments
BOOKS
"Men of the Battle of Britain" by Kenneth K Wynn.
"RAF Fighter Command Victory Claims of WWII Part One" by John Foreman.
"Battle of Britain, The Forgotten Months Nov. & Dec. 1940" by John Foreman.
"Twelve Days in May" by Brian Cull, Bruce Lander with Heinrich Weiss.
"Battle over Britain" by Francis K. Mason.
"Battle of Britain" by Norman Franks
WEBSITES/ORGANISATIONS
"The Battle of Britain Historical Society. Battle of Britain
"Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum. 12 O'clock High
Service and other records - Ministry of Defence - Air Historical Branch (RAF)
Combat Reports and Operational Record Books - The National Archives of the U.K
Others that should be mentioned:
Crispin Whiting for published and compiling information from area around the crash site at Broughton.
Andy Sauders for his assistance and initial search to pinpoint the crash site
Christopher Dawkins is the Felsted School archivist and he has been very helpful in providing Cecil's schooling information.
Barry Weekley for the use of his painting "Red Section Scramble 615 Squadron" in our header.
COPYRIGHT
The content of this website is the property of the Young family and should not be used without their permission.
Excerpts from official documents or books are the copyright of their respective owners therefore
please seek their permission before reproducing them.
The photographs used in this website are with the permission of the respective owners, their copyright remains with them and we have taken every care to prevent illegal copying.