Date of death:

May 12th, 1944 (the Netherlands)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Graves Aardenburg
Grave: 1-7.

Service number:

1584169

Nationality:

British

Service number 1584169.

Francis Riley served as Sergeant (Flt. Engr.), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve with 75 Squadron.

On May 12th 1944 a raid over Leuven was flown by the British 'Bomber Command' to bomb the crossroads around Leuven. During this mission with 126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquito's, four Lancasters got lost. Of these four Lancasters, the first one was shot down in Holland on the way to Leuven, all these crewmembers are buried on this cemetery in Aardenburg. The next two of these Lancasters crashed in Wilsele, probably due a mid-air collision between the two Lancasters. There were no survivors, these crewmembers are buried on the churchyard of Wilsele. The Fourth Lancaster crashed in Leuven, the crewmembers of this Lancaster are buried the communal cemetery of Leuven.

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• Photo 1: Mia van den Berg
• - MIDDLEBROOK, M. & EVERITT, C., The Bomber Command War Diaries, Midland Publishing, 2011.
  - W.R. CHORLEY, RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, 1944, Ian Allan Publishing, 1997.
  - Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  - Forces War Records
  

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