DUNN Horatio James Rennie, Pilot Officer (RAF), Died 01/06/1940 Aged 23. Enlisted Service No. 33411 87th Squadron. Son of George Dunn and Rose Hannah Dunn (nee Pearce) of Filton Bristol; husband of Denise Dunn (nee Foster). The Latin inscription on the grave is the RAF motto which is interpreted as ‘Through adversity to the stars’.
On November 11th 1939 Horatio was flying a No. 87 Sqdn RAF Hurricane Mk. 1 (Serial no. L1619 – LK°P) which ran out of fuel after having engaged a Dornier over Tourcoing, and force-landed in the Mouscron area, slightly damaging the plane. Dunn was apprehended and imprisoned near Antwerp, escaping a few weeks. He would be killed in Yorkshire on June 1, 1940 after a scramble from RAF Air Base Church Fenton, piloting a Hurricane.
Thank you to Belgian Wings for the photograph.
Horatio Dunn was awarded his pilot certificate on 17 Dec 1938, after successfully passing through the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell.
There is further information about ‘Jimmy’ Dunn ato whom we are grateful for the following information –
Hurricane P3519 near Yeadon airfield. On 1st June 1940 the pilot of this aircraft was undertaking a training flight and was over the area to the north of Leeds when he failed to recover from stalled turn, this was reported to have left himself insufficient height to pull out of the dive. The aircraft crashed near Yeadon at 12.30hrs and the pilot was sadly killed.
As credited previously, I have been kindly assisted in compiling many of these webpages by aviation author and historian Mr Nick Roberts. With regard this account his grandfather was responsible for the pilot’s funeral arrangements and the coffin inscription which Nick reports may have been inscribed with a posthumous award. This has yet to be confirmed through service records or official documents.
Pilot – P/O Horatio James Rennie “Jimmy” Dunn RAF (33411), aged 23, of Filton, Bristol. Buried Henham Churchyard, Essex. “Jimmy” Dunn received his commission on an unknown date, but presumably in 1938 or 1939. P/O Dunn was involved in a number of minor mishaps in France with 87 Squadron; while flying Hurricane L1619 on 10th November 1939 in pursuit of a Do.17 his aircraft ran out of fuel and he made a forced landing at Aalbeke, Belgium, on the road between Courtrai and Mouscron. Belgium was neutral at the time and he was interned and his aircraft impounded. He escaped on 27th November 1939 and was able to return to his unit at Lille/Seclin. On 9th May 1940 he was flying Hurricane P2362 when it suffered damage to its radiator from return fire from a Do.17 over Lille/Seclin. He force landed at Rethel but the aircraft overturned and he suffered head injuries from which he needed hospital treatment. On 19th May 1940 he was flying an, at present unidentified, Hurriance and was in combat with Bf.109’s in the Courtrai, Tournai area. He claimed one Bf.109 shot down but his aircraft was damaged although he was able to return to his base. This was one of seven 87 Squadron Hurricanes damaged or lost on this date. Lille/Seclin was abandoned the following day. On 20th May 1940 he was returning to his new base at Merville in Hurricane L1964 after a ground straffing mission of enemy columns near Arras when he crashed on landing. Again he was unhurt but the aircraft was damaged and then abandoned on evacuation four days later being unrepaired. He arrived in the UK but how this was done is not known, whether he flew an aircraft over the Channel or through shipping from Dunkirk.
Hurricane P3519 was built to contract 962371/38/C.23a by The Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd. at the Brockworth factory and was awaiting collection in April 1940. It was issued to 87 Squadron at Amiens/Glisy, France and was ferried out to this unit there. This squadron moved to Senon on 2nd May 1940 and it went with them, it again moved with the unit to Lille/Marcq on 10th May 1940 and to Merville on 20th May 1940. It was then evacuated back to England, initially to Debden on 24th May 1940 and it moved with unit# to Church Fenton on 26th May 1940. Following the accident recorded above Cat.W/FA damage was recorded
The data is the editor’s interpretation of documents from the:
The National Archives London, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ancestry and Find My Past.